The Chinese company that owns TikTok is vowing to fight back as the American government pushed ahead this week with attempts to force a sale or ban the app in the United States.

While TikTok is most popular with young people, an older group has emerged as unlikely influencers on the platform: senior citizens.

My favourite senior influencer is 75-year-old Barbara, AKA Brunch with Babs, an Italian-American grandmother who shares her best cooking, cleaning and #adulting tips with her 3.9 million (mostly younger) followers.

I also like the up-and-coming account of Aki and Koichi (237,400 followers), where the Japanese-American couple, also in their 70s, shares their stylish #OOTD (Outfit of the Day) videos.

Will these older American influencers be caught in the potential TikTok ban? And what are the wider implications of the controversy over TikTok?

This weekend, check out The Conversation’s recent articles about the U.S. battle over TikTok, Canada’s ban on the app on government devices, and whether it poses a security threat to Canadians. In our archives, listen to our Don’t Call Me Resilient podcast episode about how people are using TikTok to share diverse cultures, the #AdvancedStyle movement celebrating older women's fashion on social media, and the problem of ageism in tech.

Have a nice weekend,

Lisa Varano

Deputy Editor

Banning TikTok won’t solve social media’s foreign influence, teen harm and data privacy problems

Sarah Florini, Arizona State University

TikTok is hardly a model social media platform, but it’s also far from an outlier when it comes to threats to Americans.

Canada’s decision to ban TikTok from government devices is bad news for the NDP’s election strategy

Aidan Moir, University of Toronto

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has deactivated his TikTok profile in a move that will undermine his party’s attempts to engage with young voters through social media.

Does TikTok pose a security threat to Canadians?

Robert Diab, Thompson Rivers University

About 26 per cent of Canadians use TikTok. Regulating the app in Canada might be a better approach to avoiding external political influence.

TikTok is more than just a frivolous app for lip-syncing and dancing – Podcast

Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation; Haley Lewis, The Conversation

In today’s episode we take a look at how TikTok can be used as a tool to educate and has been a space for sharing information during major events in the last two years.

The #advancedstyle movement celebrates and empowers stylish older women

Ela Veresiu, York University, Canada

A new study finds that women influencers over the age of 50 engage in style activism to combat ageist and sexist fashion and beauty industries.

Ageism in tech: Older adults should be included in the design of new technologies

Stephanie Hatzifilalithis, McMaster University; Nicole Dalmer, McMaster University

Technologies are now ubiquitous in everyday modern life, but ageism means that older adults are excluded from the design of the technologies that they use.

Weekly news quiz

The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz

Joel Abrams, The Conversation

Test your knowledge with a weekly quiz drawn from some of our favorite stories.

The Conversation Weekly

Persisting inequality has made many young South Africans question the choices made by Nelson Mandela – podcast

Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Thabo Leshilo, The Conversation

The third and final part of our series What happened to Nelson Mandela’s South Africa on The Conversation Weekly podcast. Featuring interviews with Sithembile Mbete and Richard Calland.