New Delhi, located in India, has recently been in the news. The immensely popular Chinese application TikTok may face expulsion from the United States, as legislation prohibiting the video-sharing software has obtained congressional endorsement and is currently its route to President Biden for his formal consent.

The app was prohibited in India approximately four years ago. This is a summary of the events:

Indian TikTok users stopped using the app in June 2020, according to the Chinese internet company ByteDance. New Delhi swiftly prohibited the widely used application and numerous other Chinese applications in response to a military confrontation on the India-China border.

TikTok May Be Banned In The US. Here’s What Happened When India Did It

A total of twenty Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers lost their lives, resulting in a significant deterioration of relations between the two major Asian powers.

The government justified its actions by citing privacy concerns and asserting that Chinese apps pose a significant risk to India’s sovereignty and security.

The decision received significant backing in India, particularly from those who had been advocating for a boycott of Chinese products following the fatal clash in the remote Karakoram mountain border area.

“Prior to this, there was a significant uproar, with the prevailing discourse questioning the permissibility of Chinese companies engaging in business activities in India while a military confrontation is ongoing,” stated Nikhil Pahwa, a digital policy specialist and the creator of the technology website MediaNama.

Pahwa noted that India had imposed restrictions on investment from Chinese enterprises just a few months before the ban. “TikTok was not an isolated incident.” Today, India has banned more than 500 apps of Chinese origin.

India has over 200 million TikTok users, the highest number outside of China. The corporation has hired a large number of Indian employees.

However, TikTok users and content providers required an alternative platform, and the ban presented a lucrative opportunity to capture a substantial market share worth billions of dollars. In a matter of months, Google introduced YouTube Shorts, and Instagram launched its Reels feature. Both emulated the concise video production at which TikTok had excelled.

“They ultimately gained a significant portion of the market that TikTok had left,” stated Pahwa.

TikTok content in India has a distinct hyperlocal nature, setting it apart. The videos showcased the lifestyles of small-town India, with content from tier 2 and 3 cities. These videos depicted individuals performing impressive feats while engaged in tasks such as bricklaying.

However, in most cases, content creators and users have transitioned to alternative platforms in the four years following the prohibition.

Winnie Sangma longs to upload videos on TikTok and get a modest income. However, following the prohibition, he transitioned to Instagram and currently boasts a following of 15,000 individuals. The procedure has largely been effortless.

TikTok May Be Banned In The US. Here’s What Happened When India Did It

“I have amassed a following on Instagram as well, and I am generating income from it. However, the experience is not comparable to what it used to be on TikTok,” he stated.

Rajib Dutta, a regular user of TikTok, subsequently transitioned to Instagram following the suspension. “It was inconsequential,” he stated.

The measure prohibiting the app has obtained congressional approval and is pending President Biden’s signature.

The measure grants ByteDance, the app’s parent firm, a nine-month period to divest it, with an additional three months if a deal is in progress. If this does not occur, TikTok will face a ban. Implementing a ban requires a minimum of one year, but the process could be prolonged due to anticipated legal disputes.

The ban in India in 2020 was implemented promptly. TikTok and other corporations were granted a period to respond to privacy and security inquiries. Subsequently, in January 2021, a permanent prohibition was implemented.

Pahwa stated that the situation in the United States is distinct. In India, TikTok opted against pursuing legal action, but the United States represents a more substantial source of revenue for the company. Furthermore, he mentioned that the First Amendment in the United States is robust, implying that it will not be as effortless for the United States to take such action as it was for India. This statement pertains to the constitutional protection of free expression in the United States.

TikTok May Be Banned In The US. Here’s What Happened When India Did It

With the increasing prevalence of Chinese applications worldwide, Pahwa emphasizes the importance of countries evaluating their reliance on China and establishing measures to diminish it since these apps can potentially threaten national security.The application is prohibited in Pakistan, Nepal, and Afghanistan, and its usage is limited in other European nations.

The Chinese intelligence and cybersecurity laws empower Chinese apps to prioritize their security concerns. Pahwa stated that this leads to mistrust and poses a risk to national security for others.

“There ought to exist distinct regulations for democratic nations and authoritarian regimes, wherein companies can function as an appendage of the state,” he said.

SOURCE – (AP)

Los Angeles  – In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, a photographer who Megan Thee Stallion employed alleges that he was compelled to witness her engaging in sexual activity, was unjustly terminated shortly after that, and experienced mistreatment as her employee.

Photographer Alleges He Was Forced To Watch Megan Thee Stallion Have Sex And Was Unfairly Fired

Emilio Garcia, in his lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that on a night out in 2022 in Ibiza, Spain, he was present in an SUV with the hip-hop singer when she engaged in sexual activity with another lady near him. He was incapacitated from exiting the moving vehicle, and even if he could do so, he would have found himself stranded in an unfamiliar land. According to the lawsuit, Garcia experienced feelings of embarrassment, mortification, and offense during the entire incident.

Alex Spiro, Megan’s attorney, stated that she intends to contest the complaint through legal proceedings.

“This is a monetary employment claim, without any filed allegations of sexual harassment, but with scandalous accusations aimed at embarrassing her,” Spiro stated.

According to the lawsuit, Megan admonished Garcia the following day, instructing him not to disclose what he witnessed while also criticizing and body-shaming him. The complaint alleges that Garcia, who was experiencing excessive workload, low pay, and a hostile work environment due to Megan’s possessive and abusive behavior, was wrongly categorized as an independent contractor while being treated as an exclusive employee.

According to the lawsuit, Garcia discussed those concerns with Megan during their conversation and was terminated the next day after working for her for four years. Subsequently, he lodged a job discrimination lawsuit with the California Civil Rights Department.

Photographer Alleges He Was Forced To Watch Megan Thee Stallion Have Sex And Was Unfairly Fired

The lawsuit, initially disclosed by NBC News, names Megan, legally known as Megan Pete, her enterprises Megan Thee Stallion Entertainment and Hot Girl Touring and her record label, Roc Nation, as the defendants. No defense answer has been submitted yet. A representative of Roc Nation should have responded more promptly to an email requesting comment.

Garcia is pursuing monetary compensation, which will be assessed during the trial. He claims to have had significant emotional and bodily harm as a result of his treatment at work, his termination, and seeing the incident in the SUV.

Megan, a 29-year-old woman, was previously embroiled in a significant legal controversy. She endured a deluge of online harassment after being shot by rapper Tory Lanez. A jury determined that Lanez had fired at her feet while they were on a street in the Hollywood Hills in 2020. She provided testimony throughout the trial, which led to the conviction of Lanez on three felony charges. Subsequently, a court imposed a 10-year prison sentence on him.

Photographer Alleges He Was Forced To Watch Megan Thee Stallion Have Sex And Was Unfairly Fired

Megan was already a prominent emerging artist at the time of the shooting and has achieved immense success as one of the most prominent figures in hip-hop. In 2021, she won a Grammy for the best new artist category. Additionally, she attained the top position on the music charts with her tracks “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, and as a featured artist on Cardi B’s “WAP.”

SOURCE – (AP)

NEW YORK — MacDowell, one of the country’s finest artist residence programs, has honored Yoko Ono with a lifetime achievement award. The trailblazing artist, filmmaker, and musician will receive the Edward MacDowell Medal this year, following in the footsteps of Stephen Sondheim and Toni Morrison, among others.

“There has never been anyone like her; there has never been work like hers,” MacDowell board chairman Nell Painter said in a statement Sunday.

Yoko Ono To Receive Edward MacDowell Medal For Lifetime Achievement

“Over seven decades, she has pleased eyes, aroused mind, encouraged feminism, and supported refugees with imaginative works. Enduringly new and contemporary, her unusually powerful output resonates to our current times, which are in desperate need of her leitmotif: peace.”

In a statement, Ono’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, described the award as “an incredible honor.”

“The history and list of prior awardees are extremely impressive. It makes me very glad to see her work valued and celebrated in this manner,” he remarked.

Yoko Ono To Receive Edward MacDowell Medal For Lifetime Achievement

Ono, 91, has made few public appearances in recent years and is unlikely to attend the July honors event at the MacDowell campus in Peterborough, New Hampshire. David Newgarden, Ono’s music manager, will receive the award on her behalf.

Ono first rose to prominence as a member of the avant-garde Fluxus movement of the 1960s, before becoming internationally famous after meeting John Lennon, with whom she married from 1969 until his death in 1980. Their many collaborations included the songs “Give Peace a Chance,” “Imagine,” and “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” which served as the foundation for “War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko,” this year’s Oscar-winning animated short film.

Yoko Ono To Receive Edward MacDowell Medal For Lifetime Achievement

Over the last 40 years, Ono has had a busy career as a visual and recording artist, with albums like “Season of Glass,” “Starpeace,” and “Take Me to the Land of Hell.” She was recently featured in a career retrospective at London’s Tate Modern.

SOURCE – (AP)