Social media app TikTok has taken down accounts that were posting propaganda videos for the Islamic State group, a company employee said Tuesday, in the latest scandal to hit the popular platform.

TikTok, which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, claimed some 500 million users globally last year, making it one of the most popular social apps.

An employee at TikTok told AFP that about ten&nbsp;accounts were removed for posting the videos.&nbsp;

"Only one of those videos even had views that reached into double digits before being taken down," said the staffer, who declined to be named.

The videos featured corpses being paraded through streets and Islamic State fighters with guns, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story on Monday.

The Journal said the posts were from about two dozen accounts, which were identified by social media intelligence company Storyful.

"Content promoting terrorist organizations have absolutely no place on TikTok," the company said in a statement emailed to AFP.

"We permanently ban any such accounts and associated devices as soon as identified, and we continuously develop ever-stronger controls to proactively detect suspicious activity," it said.

The Islamic State's self-declared "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria fell in March, but the group remains active in several countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, as well as still inspiring jihadists through an online presence.

The TikTok platform, which allows users to create and share videos of 15 seconds, is particularly popular with teenagers.

"Unlike other platforms, which are centred around users' friends or communities, TikTok is based on engaging with a never-ending stream of new content," said Darren Davidson, the editor-in-chief of Storyful.&nbsp;

"The ISIS postings violate TikTok's policies, but the sheer volume of content makes it difficult for TikTok to police their platform and root out these videos," he said.

The app has been marred by controversy in recent months.

In April, TikTok was briefly banned by an Indian court over claims it was promoting pornography among children.

The app is banned in neighbouring Bangladesh and was hit with an enormous fine in the United States for illegally collecting information from children.

The company has refuted the allegations, saying they abide by local privacy laws.

ByteDance has a version of TikTok in China called Douyin.

Social media app TikTok has taken down accounts that were posting propaganda videos for the Islamic State group, a company employee said Tuesday, in the latest scandal to hit the popular platform.

Social media app TikTok has taken down accounts that were posting propaganda videos for the Islamic State group, a company employee said Tuesday, in the latest scandal to hit the popular platform. TikTok, which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, claimed some 500 million users globally last year, making it one of the most popular social apps. An employee at TikTok told AFP that about ten accounts were removed for posting the videos. "Only one of those videos even had views that reached into double digits before being taken down," said the staffer, who declined to be named. The videos featured corpses being paraded through streets and Islamic State fighters with guns, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story on Monday. The Journal said the posts were from about two dozen accounts, which were identified by social media intelligence company Storyful. "Content promoting terrorist organizations have absolutely no place on TikTok," the company said in a statement emailed to AFP. "We permanently ban any such accounts and associated devices as soon as identified, and we continuously develop ever-stronger controls to proactively detect suspicious activity," it said. The Islamic State's self-declared "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria fell in March, but the group remains active in several countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, as well as still inspiring jihadists through an online presence. The TikTok platform, which allows users to create and share videos of 15 seconds, is particularly popular with teenagers. "Unlike other platforms, which are centred around users' friends or communities, TikTok is based on engaging with a never-ending stream of new content," said Darren Davidson, the editor-in-chief of Storyful. "The ISIS postings violate TikTok's policies, but the sheer volume of content makes it difficult for TikTok to police their platform and root out these videos," he said. The app has been marred by controversy in recent months. In April, TikTok was briefly banned by an Indian court over claims it was promoting pornography among children. The app is banned in neighbouring Bangladesh and was hit with an enormous fine in the United States for illegally collecting information from children. The company has refuted the allegations, saying they abide by local privacy laws. ByteDance has a version of TikTok in China called Douyin.

Social media app TikTok removes Islamic State propaganda videos

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday defended the huge social network's policy of refraining from <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-exempts-political-speech-from-fact-checking-251925">fact-checking </a>politicians, saying it's not the job of tech firms to "censor."

Speaking to students at Georgetown University in Washington, Zuckerberg responded to critics who argued that Facebook is enabling political leaders including President Donald Trump to propagate misinformation.

Zuckerberg said the policy,&nbsp;which does not include the fact-checking of political speech or ads,&nbsp;is based on a long tradition of allowing free expression.

"I don't think most people want to live in a world where you can only post things that tech companies judge to be 100 per cent true," he said.

"I don't think it's right for private companies to censor politicians or the news in a democracy."

Zuckerberg said Facebook still may remove content from political leaders or others when it may lead to "harm."

But he added: "When it's not absolutely clear what to do, I believe we should err on the side of greater expression."

The comments come with Facebook under heightened pressure to root out misinformation, and at the same time avoid charges from Trump and others of political bias.

Zuckerberg, whose speech was described as a "Conversation on Free Expression," said he still sees Facebook and other social platforms as a positive force because they give more people "a voice."

"The ability to speak freely has been central in the fight for democracy worldwide," he said.

Zuckerberg said he welcomes new regulations on tech platforms but warned against any effort that would strengthen the role in the online ecosystem of Chinese firms or others without the same values of free expression.

"Until recently the internet in almost every country outside of China has been defined by American platforms with strong free expression values," he said.

"But there's no guarantee these values will win out," he said.

He noted that Facebook-owned WhatsApp is used by activists and protesters, while Chinese-based app TikTok has been censoring information on protests.

"Is that the internet that we want?" he asked.

Zuckerberg said any regulation must take into account the value of open expression at a time when China is seeking to "export" its version of the internet.

"While we may disagree on exactly where to draw the line on specific issues, we at least can disagree," he said.

"If another nation's platforms set the rules, our discourse will be defined by a completely different set of values."

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday defended the huge social network's policy of refraining from fact-checking politicians, saying it's not the job of tech firms to "censor.

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday defended the huge social network's policy of refraining from fact-checking politicians, saying it's not the job of tech firms to "censor." Speaking to students at Georgetown University in Washington, Zuckerberg responded to critics who argued that Facebook is enabling political leaders including President Donald Trump to propagate misinformation. Zuckerberg said the policy, which does not include the fact-checking of political speech or ads, is based on a long tradition of allowing free expression. "I don't think most people want to live in a world where you can only post things that tech companies judge to be 100 per cent true," he said. "I don't think it's right for private companies to censor politicians or the news in a democracy." Zuckerberg said Facebook still may remove content from political leaders or others when it may lead to "harm." But he added: "When it's not absolutely clear what to do, I believe we should err on the side of greater expression." The comments come with Facebook under heightened pressure to root out misinformation, and at the same time avoid charges from Trump and others of political bias. Zuckerberg, whose speech was described as a "Conversation on Free Expression," said he still sees Facebook and other social platforms as a positive force because they give more people "a voice." "The ability to speak freely has been central in the fight for democracy worldwide," he said. Zuckerberg said he welcomes new regulations on tech platforms but warned against any effort that would strengthen the role in the online ecosystem of Chinese firms or others without the same values of free expression. "Until recently the internet in almost every country outside of China has been defined by American platforms with strong free expression values," he said. "But there's no guarantee these values will win out," he said. He noted that Facebook-owned WhatsApp is used by activists and protesters, while Chinese-based app TikTok has been censoring information on protests. "Is that the internet that we want?" he asked. Zuckerberg said any regulation must take into account the value of open expression at a time when China is seeking to "export" its version of the internet. "While we may disagree on exactly where to draw the line on specific issues, we at least can disagree," he said. "If another nation's platforms set the rules, our discourse will be defined by a completely different set of values."

Mark Zuckerberg defends Facebook's hands-off policy for politicians

Earlier, Madras HC had issued an Interim Order. Apple, Google asked to ban this application.

WION Wallet: Supreme court refuses to stay ban on Tik Tok

Snap Inc on Thursday launched a gaming platform within its Snapchat app featuring original and third-party games such as Zynga Inc's Tiny Royale, aiming to keep existing users engaged longer and attract new ones.

Snap also announced a slew of fresh features and content for existing products, adding shows from Bunim/Murray Productions and BuzzFeed and augmented reality filters including templates of landmarks. It said it will also allow advertisers to buy ads that run outside the Snapchat platform.

Snap made the announcement at its first-ever Partner Summit in Los Angeles. The new features and content are aimed at keeping its core base of 13-34-year-olds on its messaging platform longer even as overall user growth has stalled.

Snap faces fierce competition for users and advertisers from bigger and far better-financed rivals. For instance, Facebook Inc's platform and Instagram photo-sharing app have copied popular Snapchat features like Stories, a personal feed of photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours.

In 2018, Instagram had about 400 million daily active users on its version of Stories, more than twice Snapchat's daily users.

Snap must also battle for user attention against newer rivals like TikTok, a short-form video app owned by Chinese tech company Bytedance.

The number of daily active users on Snapchat has held steady or fallen for the past several quarters, but the app is still wildly popular among young users.

Snapchat reaches 75 per cent of 13-34-year-olds and 90 per cent of 13-24-year-olds in the United States.

"We wanted to build something that makes us feel like we're playing a board game with family over a long holiday weekend," Will Wu, director of product at Snap, told creators and developers who had accepted invitations to the one-day event.

"Something that makes us feel like we're sitting with friends, controllers in hand, looking at the same screen."

The games include Snap's flagship Bitmoji Party, Spry Fox's Alphabear Hustle, ZeptoLab's CATS Drift Race, Game Closure's Snake Squad, PikPok's Zombie Rescue Squad and Zynga's Tiny Royale. They can be played from Snapchat's main "Chat" messaging feature.

Snap said the gaming platform will have non-skippable, six-second video ads, a relatively new format that boosted fourth-quarter revenue.

Snap also announced a product called "Snap Audience Network" which will allow advertisers to buy vertical ads that run beyond Snap's platform to third-party apps. The tool has not been rolled out but Snap made the announcement on Thursday to get developers and publishers on board, its spokesman said.

The company also launched new augmented reality "lenses," or filters that overlay video, including templates of landmarks like Buckingham Palace in London, the US Capitol Building in Washington DC, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

As part of Snap's push to expose more content outside of the platform, the company also launched "App Stories" with partners like Tinder which would allow users to update their dating profiles with Snapchat Stories.

Snap Inc on Thursday launched a gaming platform within its Snapchat app featuring original and third-party games such as Zynga Inc's Tiny Royale, aiming to keep existing users engaged longer and attract new ones.

Snap Inc on Thursday launched a gaming platform within its Snapchat app featuring original and third-party games such as Zynga Inc's Tiny Royale, aiming to keep existing users engaged longer and attract new ones. Snap also announced a slew of fresh features and content for existing products, adding shows from Bunim/Murray Productions and BuzzFeed and augmented reality filters including templates of landmarks. It said it will also allow advertisers to buy ads that run outside the Snapchat platform. Snap made the announcement at its first-ever Partner Summit in Los Angeles. The new features and content are aimed at keeping its core base of 13-34-year-olds on its messaging platform longer even as overall user growth has stalled. Snap faces fierce competition for users and advertisers from bigger and far better-financed rivals. For instance, Facebook Inc's platform and Instagram photo-sharing app have copied popular Snapchat features like Stories, a personal feed of photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. In 2018, Instagram had about 400 million daily active users on its version of Stories, more than twice Snapchat's daily users. Snap must also battle for user attention against newer rivals like TikTok, a short-form video app owned by Chinese tech company Bytedance. The number of daily active users on Snapchat has held steady or fallen for the past several quarters, but the app is still wildly popular among young users. Snapchat reaches 75 per cent of 13-34-year-olds and 90 per cent of 13-24-year-olds in the United States. "We wanted to build something that makes us feel like we're playing a board game with family over a long holiday weekend," Will Wu, director of product at Snap, told creators and developers who had accepted invitations to the one-day event. "Something that makes us feel like we're sitting with friends, controllers in hand, looking at the same screen." The games include Snap's flagship Bitmoji Party, Spry Fox's Alphabear Hustle, ZeptoLab's CATS Drift Race, Game Closure's Snake Squad, PikPok's Zombie Rescue Squad and Zynga's Tiny Royale. They can be played from Snapchat's main "Chat" messaging feature. Snap said the gaming platform will have non-skippable, six-second video ads, a relatively new format that boosted fourth-quarter revenue. Snap also announced a product called "Snap Audience Network" which will allow advertisers to buy vertical ads that run beyond Snap's platform to third-party apps. The tool has not been rolled out but Snap made the announcement on Thursday to get developers and publishers on board, its spokesman said. The company also launched new augmented reality "lenses," or filters that overlay video, including templates of landmarks like Buckingham Palace in London, the US Capitol Building in Washington DC, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. As part of Snap's push to expose more content outside of the platform, the company also launched "App Stories" with partners like Tinder which would allow users to update their dating profiles with Snapchat Stories.

Snap adds games to Snapchat app to hold on to young users

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Social media app TikTok removes Islamic State propaganda videos

Mark Zuckerberg defends Facebook's hands-off policy for politicians

WION Wallet: Supreme court refuses to stay ban on Tik Tok

Snap adds games to Snapchat app to hold on to young users