☕ The latest on TikTok's future

It’s Thursday.

Yesterday, the annual World Happiness Report was released - and the US has slipped one spot to 24th spot, down from 15th two years ago. Gallop, who released the report, said the cost of living crisis and political unrest has led to a slight decrease in the happiness of Americans, particularly amongst young people.

It’ll be of no surprise that the top of the table is dominated by Nordic countries - Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden took out the top four spots.

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Some headlines from this morning:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accepted the terms of a 30-day partial ceasefire with Russia. It follows a call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, where they agreed on a proposal that would see a pause on strikes on power stations. Following a separate call with President Donald Trump, Zelenskyy said “lasting peace can be achieved this year." According to the White House, the two leaders also discussed a proposal that would transfer ownership of Ukrainian energy infrastructure to the US. However, Russia has not yet agreed to the U.S/Ukrainian-backed plan for an immediate 30-day full ceasefire on land, air and sea. Negotiations are expected to continue this weekend.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has issued a rare written statement about the Trump administration’s attempts to disqualify the federal court judge who ordered the pause on the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants under a rarely-use wartime law. The White House has called for the impeachment of Judge James Boasberg, who ruled the planes - which had likely already departed - remain in the US. In the statement, Justice Roberts did not mention Trump by name, but called on the administration to appeal the judgment instead of attempting to remove the judge, as had been established over “more than two centuries”. Justice Roberts, who was appointed by Republican President George W Bush, reinforced the independence of the judiciary, stating “we do not have Obama judges or Trump judges”.

The White House will pause $175 million in funding to the University of Pennsylvania because of its policies on transgender students' participation in sport. Penn drew national attention in 2022 when student swimmer Lia Thomas became the first openly transgender woman to win an NCAA championship. An executive order prohibiting the participation of transgender students in women’s sport was signed by President Trump earlier this year. In yesterday’s announcement on X, the White House said Penn’s policies are "forcing women to compete with men in sports." A spokesperson for the University said they were aware of media reports, but had not been officially notified of any change to their funding agreements.

The Federal Reserve has left interest rates on hold, but admitted “uncertainty around the economy has increased”. It also cut its growth projections for the US economy over the rest of this year from 2.1% to 1.7%. Every month, the Federal Reserve determines if they should raise, cut or hold the current interest rate to keep inflation in check based on economic projections. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell emphasized that US economic data was still strong in a global context, but recent trade policies had caused an unprecedented level of uncertainty that made predicting the movement of the economy difficult.

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Environmental campaigning network Greenpeace has been ordered to pay approximately $660 million in damages after a jury found it had defamed Texas-based oil company Energy Transfer. Greenpeace, who said it would appeal the ruling, said the penalty could send them into “financial ruin, ending over 50 years of environmental activism."

The case centered around protests of Energy Transfer’s Dakota Access Pipeline, which gained global attention and became one of the largest anti-fossil fuel protests in US history. Energy Transfer successfully argued Greenpeace had a substantial role in organizing the protests, which attracted more than 10,000 demonstrators.

The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL)

The DAPL is 1,172 miles long and moves oil from North Dakota oilfields to a pipeline hub in Patoka, Illinois, where it then can be distributed as far as Texas. The project started in 2016 and was completed by early 2017, costing $3.8 billion.

The protests

In 2016, Standing Rock Sioux, a First Nations community, claimed they were not properly consulted about the pipeline. The group argued its operation threatened to contaminate their reservation’s water supply, and would destroy sacred lands.

Standing Rock Sioux were joined in their protests by thousands of people, who camped out on the DAPL site attempting to block and delay its construction.

After months of protest, police used non-lethal force to clear the encampments.

The case

Energy Transfer alleged Greenpeace had played a significant role in the protests, using their global reach to increase the protests' publicity. It claimed the group caused damage in nine different ways, ranging from defaming their reputation, trespassing and nuisance which caused delays to the construction of the project. Energy Transfer claimed the delays cost them $300 million.

Greenpeace denied these allegations, saying it played a minimal role.

Ultimately, the jury sided with Energy Transfer, finding Greenpeace liable for what the oil company called an “unlawful and violent scheme to cause financial harm to Energy Transfer”.

The reactions

Greenpeace said the lawsuit was an intimidating tactic designed to discourage other organizations from attempting to stop oil and gas projects. A spokesperson for the organization said "this case is simple. Big Oil wants to silence its critics."

A co-founder of Energy Transfer responded to the verdict saying, "Everybody is afraid of these environmental groups and the fear that it may look wrong if you fight back with these people… they're going to pay for it.”

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On April 5, TikTok, a Chinese-owned video app used by approximately 170 million Americans, may once again be banned.

On his first day in office, President Trump suspended the enforcement of a ban for 75 days in hopes of securing a sale to an American company.

We’re now less than two weeks away from the end of that 75-day period. As the deadline approaches, rumors of potential buyers - and whether a new owner would sufficiently protect US data - continues to grow.

The ban

The ban came into effect in January, 9 months after US lawmakers ordered the app be banned due to concerns user data was being shared with the Chinese Government.

To avoid the ban and satisfy national security concerns, ByteDance was ordered to sell its US operations to a non-Chinese entity.

However, ByteDance refused to sell and on January 19 - a day before President Trump’s inauguration - the ban was enforced. Tik Tok displayed a message on their app explaining they had suspended services in the US.

President Trump steps in

In his first term, President Trump was in favor of banning TikTok. On the first day of his second term, he suspended enforcement of the ban for 75days after talks with ByteDance officials.

President Trump said that he would broker a deal for the sale of TikTok within the 75-day period, suggesting the US Government take a stake in the app itself. Following that pledge, a number of tech companies and influencers made public bids, including Elon Musk and YouTube star Mr Beast.

VP Vance and National Security Advisor Mike Walz were appointed to manage the sale.

Who’s in the race?

Responding to reporter questions earlier this month, Trump said a deal was coming “soon” and there were four potential buyers. He did not specify who the candidates were.

More recently, Politico reported that US software company Oracle had ‘accelerated’ purchase talks with the White House. On Tuesday, Oracle was asked by the White House how it would manage American data and ensure that ByteDance’s China headquarters did not have backdoor access.

Does a deal seem likely?

It is still unclear if TikTok would actually share its algorithm with Oracle, or another US buyer, which would be a necessary part of any deal.

Republican and Democratic Senators have expressed concerns about the sale, questioning how a buyer would be able to protect American data from ByteDance and operate separately from the Chinese based entity.

“The law is clear: Any deal must eliminate Chinese influence and control over the app to safeguard our interests,” said Republican lawmaker John Moolenaar.

Meanwhile, VP Vance told NBC News this week “a high-level agreement that … satisfies …national security concerns” will “almost certainly” be made.