TikTok’s launching Twitch-like subscriptions in beta

  • TikTok has announced a program which lets viewers pay to subscribe to specific live streamers they want to support.
  • Live subscription will give fans access to perks like subscriber-only chat, creator-specific emotes and badges.
  • This will launch in beta on May 26th according to an announcement video from the TikTok live creator page.
  • You can read the full story on the Verge’s website.

UK watchdog fines facial recognition firm over £7.5m

  • The UK’s data watchdog has fined a facial recognition company (Clearview AI) £7.5 million.
  • The company was fined for collecting images of people from social media platforms and the web to add to a global database.
  • Clearview AI was also ordered to delete the data of UK residents from its systems.
  • The company had collected more than 20 billion images of people’s faces.
  • You can read the full story on the Guardian’s website.

Text scam claiming to be from NHS circulating

  • Police are warning people about a circulating COVID-19 text messaging scam.
  • The message claims to be from the NHS and tells recipients they have been a close contact of a positive case.
  • They are then advised to click a link and book a test, which takes the user to a website where they must pay for the test.
  • This comes despite the NHS never asking people to pay for COVID-19 tests or asking for bank details.
  • You can read the full story on the BBC’s website.

Northern Ireland gets its own ‘TikTok’ House

  • The first TikTok house called the VAVA club will be launched in NI next month as two firms collaborate.
  • The house will allow TikTok stars to live together for one week while they film content for their accounts using the home as a backdrop.
  • The concept was seen recently in the ‘Hype House’ in California.
  • You can read the full story on the Belfast Telegraph’s website.