TikTok Global

Business in Russia

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History

2023: €345 million fine in the EU for violating laws on the protection of children's personal data

TikTok was fined 345 million euros ($370 million) in September 2023. USA) for violating laws on the protection of personal data of children in the EU.

2021

Growth of personnel, sales and losses in the European division

At the disposal of the Financial Times were tax documents of the European business TikTok, from which it became known that in 2021 the division's turnover increased almost sixfold - from $172 million to $990 million.

At the same time, losses due to a significant expansion of the staff increased threefold (to $896 million): 4,396 employees work in the European branch of TikTok, whose main office is located in London, which is 3,000 more than in 2020.

TikTok Kitchen restaurant launch plan

It was only a matter of time before TikTok Inc. entered the restaurant business. On December 17, 2021, the platform announced a partnership with Virtual Dining Concepts to launch delivery TikTok Kitchen restaurants across the United States in March 2022.

Co-founder Robert Earl says there are plans to open about 300 TikTok restaurants nationwide by the launch, with more than 1,000 expected by the end of 2022. He foresees success on a par with MrBeast.

TikTok Kitchen's menu will be based on the app's most viral culinary trends.

"Look, you have a platform with a billion monthly viewers who are constantly involved, as the figures show. For the first time, such a brand appeared - an audience of hundreds of millions of people. "

Launch of the Russian-language security center

The platform for creating and watching short videos TikTok has launched Russian-speaking the Security Center, a portal that contains everything you need information about how the platform keeps users safe and is designed to educate the audience about the policies, tools and settings that help make TikTok a friendly place.

It is important for the platform to provide a safe space in which everyone can realize their ideas and express themselves freely. The information portal consists of several sections reflecting important aspects of safety on the platform, including juvenile safety and parenting guides, anti-bullying, suicide and self-harm policies, and more. The resource consists of the following units:

• Guides to help audiences learn more about the security, privacy and protection approach on TikTok.
• Security and privacy settings.
• A block dedicated to what efforts the platform is making in important areas: the prevention of bullying, the topic of suicide and self-harm, COVID-19, etc.
• Security partners in the world and Russia.
• Security news on the platform.

In the "Guides" block, users can familiarize themselves with the Community Rules and learn about the principles of security on TikTok. Thus, the platform prioritizes the safety of minors and considers necessary and valuable the contribution of parents and guardians to providing a comfortable environment for adolescents. The'Guide for Those Responsible for Raising Minors' tells parents and guardians about TikTok's approach to safety and the 'Family Settings' function, which allows you to link an adult account with a teenager's account and set various content settings.

In the "Security and Privacy Settings" block, users can learn how to set up their account to feel as comfortable and secure as possible on the platform. For example, users can restrict those who can text them by selecting only friends or no one. Earlier, TikTok turned off the ability to write private messages to users under 16. Also, users can limit the list of those who can leave comments on their videos or shoot duets with them.

The "Themes" block is dedicated to the platform's efforts in such important areas as the prevention of bullying, COVID-19, the topic of suicide and self-harm, and more. TikTok pays great attention to the fight against cyberbullying: the team of moderators quickly reacts to content and comments aimed at harassing users. The audience can also use special filters for comments: independently select keywords or limit all comments with insults. The platform cares about the mental health of each member of its community: The'Suicide and Self-Harm' subsection collects insights into TikTok's work to prevent the spread of content promoting actions aimed at calling for suicide or self-harm. For users who search the app for content on keywords related to this topic, the platform automatically offers assistance resources.

The 'Security News on the Platform' block collects news on what efforts the platform is making to make TikTok an even safer place for its community.

2020: Building a company and selling Oracle and Walmart stakes under U.S. pressure

On September 19, 2020, US President Donald Trump told reporters that he had approved the deal between Oracle and TikTok Global. And the Treasury Department postponed the issuance of a decree blocking TikTok in the United States for a week.

Oracle will receive a 12.5% stake in the new company TikTok Global and will sell cloud services to it. Another 7.5% will be received by Walmart, a partner in the development of e-commerce of the Chinese service in the United States. And Walmart CEO Doug McMillon will join the board of directors of a new company that will own TikTok's American business.

Bytedance will have 80% of TikTok Global remaining, according to CNBC. But since 40% of Bytedance itself belongs to funds from the United States, the White House may argue that technically most of TikTok belongs to Americans.

Interestingly, it was Walmart that announced that it would prepare TikTok for an IPO in the United States over the next year in order to "give more property rights to US citizens."

According to the WSJ, Microsoft could not win the deal due to export restrictions on TikTok technology and because it wanted everything at once, and Oracle was ready to become a minority shareholder and leave technology from the Chinese. That is, Oracle bravely broke into the deal and, together with the Chinese, drew up exactly the offer that would satisfy Trump and allow him to get TikTok for his cloud business. That is, Oracle guaranteed the Chinese control and technology, and Trump - data security, and everything suited everyone. In addition, Oracle promised to create 25,000 jobs and pay $5 billion to the treasury for patriotic education.

In addition, Trump was convinced that ByteDance is not Huawei, in the sense that the company has international investors, and only two out of five are Chinese on the board of directors.

Following the talks, a board of directors was drawn up for the new TikTok Global structure, which included: Doug Leon, global managing partner of Sequoia Capital, Arthur Danchik of Susquehanna International Group, CEO of General Atlantic Bill Ford, CEO of Wallmart Doug McMillon and CEO of TikTok Zhang Yiming.

It is noteworthy that Oracle, which convinced Trump all the way that he would ensure security, and the Chinese that the deal would be concluded on their terms, was later forced to get out, since Trump said that the American company should not be a minority, but a controlling shareholder of the new structure.