1. What will YouTube's Shorts new video creation tools enable creators to do?

2. In addition to adding new creation tools, what will Shorts now allow creators to do?

3. Why did YouTube make the change in how it tracks view counts?

4. How has the time of the Shorts increased?

5. a) Do you use TikTok or YouTube shorts? Which platform do you think is better? Explain your answer.
b) Watch the video under "Resources" of YouTube's Chief Product Officer, Johanna Voolich and Rene Ritchie, YouTube's creator liaison explain the new YouTube Shorts features. Do they present a compelling explanation and do you think Shorts can rival Tik Tok user numbers?

6. A law passed by Congress and signed by President Biden requires ByteDance [controlled by the Chinese government - the Chinese Communist Party] to sell its stake in TikTok or face a ban in the U.S. The U.S. government argued that TikTok's data collection practices and its ties to the Chinese government pose a national security risk.

On Jan. 17, 2025 the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the government, stating that the law does not violate the First Amendment rights of TikTok or its users. The Supreme Court ruled that if ByteDance fails to sell TikTok, the app could be forced to shut down its operations in the U.S.

Some of those interested in buying TikTok include Amazon, Oracle, Microsoft, Perplexity, Mr. Beast and SharkTank's Kevin O'Leary)

Watch the CNBC video under "Resources" below.

a) Kyle Bass, founder and CEO of Hayman Capital Management called TikTok a "digital trojan horse." He noted that TikTok is worth $12 billion in the U.S. and $36 billion globally - and offers to buy it would be between $35-50 billion - but if Chinese Communist Party leader President Xi Jin Ping [refuses to sell] and takes $0, it will be the "greatest tell in history."
What do you think he means by this?
b) Mr. Bass says China is our largest enemy. He responds to the reporter's question that Trump "put China on the back burner" and imposed the first tariffs on Canada and Mexico by explaining that China has built factories in these two countries and sells products through them under the trade agreements the U.S. had with them - and also traffics massive amounts of fentanyl into the U.S. through Mexico. Bass says Trump knows what he's doing. What is your response to this assertion?
c) Ask a parent a) and b)