TikTok, Tick-Tock ⌚🇺🇸

👀 TLDR

In this week’s What’s Appening, we cover the impending ban of TikTok in the US. Will a sale happen at the last moment? And what will happen to TikTok on your phone if it is banned on January 19? We try to answer those questions. We also have news on how a dodgy app cost the Sonos CEO his job, the best of CES 2025, a new event planning app from Apple, the UK gunning for Google, and the biggest flip-flop in tech CEOs.

🎬 Our Top Take

📵🇺🇸 TikTok – What to Know as Deadline for Sale or Ban Approaches

As it stands, TikTok has mere days left as a legal app in the United States. The last-ditch effort for the Supreme Court to side with TikTok seems to have failed, so the big question is, what happens next? This is a developing story, and it could change in an instant, so we can parse out some hypothetical scenarios. First, if the ban happens on January 19th, TikTok will be removed from app stores in the US. The app won’t stop working immediately on your device, but TikTok won’t be able to update, fix bugs, etc. Eventually, it will stop working. Can a sale still go through? Yes, and there are rumors that the Chinese Government would be happy for Elon Musk to take ownership, which is, um, interesting. Other companies, including non-profits, have also expressed an interest in taking it over. Can the courts still get involved? Yes, and there’s also room for Donald Trump to roll in on a white horse (or escalators) and play the hero to save TikTok. The deadline seems to have crept up on everybody, and we notice that there is now panic among many content creators (remember, folks, this is people’s livelihoods we are talking about). We expect some kind of attempt to save the app in the coming days, but whether it will be enough is anyone’s guess. #TikTokTimeUp Read more here.

📲 App of the Week: fullmoon

3 billion parameters in your pocket; those parameters have been burning a hole in our pockets for a few months whilst we’ve been part of the beta test group on iOS; it’s now live. Fullmoon is a free app designed to allow users to interact with LLMs, notably Meta’s Llama 3.2. The key call out is that it is free, private, and it even works offline. This is because it runs locally on Apple silicon and is hence private as no external server calls. We’re very excited about running LLMs locally and building them into future apps. The app is compatible with iOS, MacOS, and visionOS devices. You can access fullmoon here.

🧐 Stat of the Week: 90%+

📈📉 Google – UK’s CMA Questions Google’s Search Dominance

Google has been no stranger to antitrust cases these last few years, but we feel compelled to point out that the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority doesn’t play around (it’s the body that forced Meta to sell Giphy). Anyway, the CMA is gunning for Google in a big way over how Search impacts business. It’s also looking at how Google is rolling out AI search. The CMA is said to have a list of “remedies” for Google to adhere to. Google’s search engine has a market share of over 90% in the UK. #GoogleTrust Read more here.

🗞️ Other Stories

🧟‍♂️🗽Zuck 2.0 – Times are-a Changing Across Meta as Trump Presidency Looms

We try to stay clear of politics on What’s Appening, but let’s be honest, it’s very difficult with tech and politics so intertwined. The make-over Mark Zuckerberg has performed is the latest, and perhaps most fascinating (or disturbing, depending on your politics) twist in the tale of two cities (SF & DC). While Meta and others have been condemned for being too left-leaning the past ten years and bowing to government censoring demands, it looks like Zuckerberg has thrown in the towel and emphatically crossed the aisle. After banning President Trump from all platforms four years ago, his flip-flop is all the more noticeable. In addition to the changes across Facebook and Instagram — fact-checking abolished, new hate speech rules, promotion of political content, and the rolling back of DEI initiatives, to name but a few — Zuckerberg himself is making new friends while losing old ones. On Joe Rogan’s podcast last week, he praised the benefits of 'masculine energy' while calling corporate America 'culturally neutered.’ Then, along with Amazon, Google, Uber, Meta, Sam Altman, and Tim Cook (phew!), Meta and Zuckerberg personally have each contributed a million dollars to the inauguration party next week. Now, inauguration donations are not a new thing (they’ve been going and growing under both Democrat and Republican presidents), but the overwhelming contributions from Big Tech are an obvious attempt to get back in the good books of the incoming President. Is bribery too strong a word? #MakingAMark Read more here.

📍 Meanwhile at 3Advance

In case you missed it, we’re bringing the 3Advance team together from across the map to the DMV for a special gathering! To celebrate, we’re hosting a Happy Hour next Friday, January 24, at Ireland’s Four Courts in Arlington. Join us from 5–7 PM for pints, good conversation, and plenty of laughs. If you’re in the area, we’d love to see you there - RSVP here! Come as you are, and let’s hang out. Can’t wait to connect with everyone - cheers! 🍻

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