Denouncing US, Venezuelan troops, militias stage drills

Venezuela's armed forces and civilian militias took the streets in cities, beaches and border regions on Saturday for drills ordered by President Nicolás Maduro, amid tensions between Washington and Caracas.

Despite the maneuvers, there are no indications that the U.S. plans any military intervention in Venezuela. Washington has focused on political and diplomatic pressure in its efforts to oust Maduro, only saying last year that it had not ruled out a military option.

Maduro called for the exercises as he comes under pressure from the U.S. and dozens of other nations backing a year-long campaign by opposition leader Juan Guaidó to force the leader from power.

Members of the Bolivarian National Militia arrive to take part in an invasion drill at the 23 de Enero neighborhood in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered two days of nationwide military exercises, with the participation of civilian militias. (AP PhotoMatias Delacroix)

Residents in a pro-Maduro slum in Caracas participated in the exercises. They included a growing number of civilian militia members recruited by a cash-starved government that is struggling to keep Venezuela's shattered economy afloat.

“I answered the call to help prepare for our defense because my country, my homeland, is under threat from the U.S. empire,” said militia member Pablo Antonio Reyes, a 63-year-old electronics technician.

Militiamen and government supporters dressed in red shirts held combat drills on streets blocked off by city buses. They evacuated residents from buildings as tires burned on rooftops to simulate fires from attacks.

A member of a pro-government group takes part in an invasion drill at the 23 de Enero neighborhood in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered two days of nationwide military exercises, including the participation of civilian militias. (AP PhotoMatias Delacroix)

"The purpose of this exercise is to keep us prepared," said militia member Carmen Ferrer, 50.

Maduro said that the two-day maneuvers were aimed at fending off “terrorist aggression” by Washington and its allies in the region including neighboring Colombia.

The Venezuelan military, which has received Russian support, deployed missile launchers, anti-aircraft batteries and radars in the streets. The government seeks to boost militia ranks, filled out by the old and young, housewives and students.

A couple drives past a member of the pro-government militias taking part in a foreign invasion drill in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered two days of nationwide military exercises, including the participation of civilian militias. (AP PhotoMatias Delacroix)

Guaidó, who launched a campaign a year ago to end two decades of socialist rule, on Saturday call on the armed forces to abandon Maduro’s failed leadership and help him reconstruct a new Venezuela. His previous appeals to the military to change sides have fallen short.

“We are with you,” he said, lamenting the condition of what he called “malnourished soldiers" in Venezuela's once-proud military. A relatively small number of Venezuelan troops have defected in the past year.

Guaidó spoke a day after Maduro threatened the opposition leader with jail.

People peer from a window as soldiers take position during an invasion drill in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered two days of nationwide military exercises, including the participation of civilian militias. (AP PhotoMatias Delacroix)

“The truth is that the risk is not only for Juan Guaidó,” the opposition leader said of himself, noting a list of jailed politicians and political allies. “But for everyone.”

Guaido this week returned from a three-week international tour aimed at increasing support for overthrowing Maduro. At a White House meeting, President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support for Guaidó, calling him Venezuela’s legitimate president and Maduro a “tyrant.”

In Caracas, Guaidó supporter María Blanco scoffed at the Venezuelan military display, expressing frustration by snarled traffic blocked by the maneuvers.

A woman sits next to an armored vehicle taking part in military exercises in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered two days of nationwide military drills, including the participation of civilian militias. (AP PhotoMatias Delacroix)

"I do not think that this does anything,” Blanco said.

Associated Press writer Scott Smith contributed to this story.

Members of the Bolivarian National Militia and soldiers take part in a military drill in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered two days of nationwide military exercises, including the participation of civilian militias. (AP PhotoMatias Delacroix)

A member of a pro-government militia group stands on a roof overlooking the 23 de Enero neighborhood during an invasion drill in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered two days of nationwide military exercises, including participation of civilian militias. (AP PhotoMatias Delacroix)

Military personnel crosses a highway during military drills in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered two days of nationwide military exercises, including the participation of civilian militias. (AP PhotoMatias Delacroix)

Workers look at soldiers taking part in an invasion drill in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered two days of nationwide military exercises, including the participation of civilian militias. (AP PhotoMatias Delacroix)

Soldiers line up on an overpass during military drills in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered two days of nationwide military exercises, including the participation of civilian militias. (AP PhotoMatias Delacroix)

A member of the Bolivarian National Militia takes part in an invasion drill in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered two days of nationwide military exercises, including participation of civilian militias. (AP PhotoMatias Delacroix)

A military drill at La Carlota airbase in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered two days of nationwide military exercises, including participation of civilian militias. (AP PhotoMatias Delacroix)

Members of the National Bolivarian Militia seat in a military vehicle after taking part in a military drill in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered two days of nationwide military exercises, including participation of civilian militias. (AP PhotoMatias Delacroix)

Members of the Bolivarian National Militias rest atop a building next to La Carlota air base during military excersices in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered two days of nationwide military drills, including the participation of civilian militias. (AP PhotoMatias Delacroix)

Self-proclaimed interim president of Venezuela and opposition leader Juan Guaido speaks at a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Guaido returned this week from an international tour seeking support to oust President Nicolas Maduro, violating a travel ban. (AP PhotoAriana Cubillos)

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gives a press conference at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. Maduro said Friday that authorities haven’t detained opposition leader Juan Guaido because the courts haven’t ordered it, but he warned: “It will come.” (AP PhotoAriana Cubillos)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that's probably because it has, at least if you're measuring via internet time. What's now in question is whether it will be around much longer and, if so, in what form?

Starting in 2017, when the Chinese social video app merged with its competitor Musical.ly, TikTok has grown from a niche teen app into a global trendsetter. While, of course, also emerging as a potential national security threat, according to U.S. officials.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring TikTok parent ByteDance to sell to a U.S. owner within a year or to shut down. It's not clear whether that law will survive an expected legal challenge or that ByteDance would agree to sell.

Here's how TikTok came to this juncture:

ByteDance is founded in China by entrepreneur Zhang Yimin. Its first hit product is Toutiao, a personalized news aggregator for Chinese users.

Startup Musical.ly, later known for an eponymous app used to post short lipsyncing music videos, is founded in China by entrepreneur Alex Zhu.

Musical.ly hits #1 in the Apple App Store, following a design change that made the company's logo visible when users shared their videos.

ByteDance launches Douyin, a video sharing app for Chinese users. Its popularity inspires the company to spin off a version for foreign audiences called TikTok.

ByteDance acquires Musical.ly for $1 billion. Nine months later, ByteDance merges it with TikTok.

Powered by an algorithm that encourages binge-watching, users begin to share a wide variety of video on the app, including dance moves, kitchen food preparation and various “challenges” to perform, record and post acts that range from serious to satirical.

Rapper Lil Nas X releases the country-trap song “Old Town Road” on TikTok, where it goes viral and pushes the song to a record 17 weeks in the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The phenomenon kicks off a wave of TikTok videos from musical artists who suddenly see TikTok as a critical way to reach fans.

TikTok settles federal charges of violating U.S. child-privacy laws and agrees to pay a $5.7 million fine.

The Washington Post reports that while images of Hong Kong democracy protests and police crackdowns are common on most social media sites, they are strangely absent on TikTok. The same story notes that TikTok posts with the #trump2020 tag received more than 70 million views.

The company insists that TikTok content moderation, conducted in the U.S., is not responsible and says the app is a place for entertainment, not politics.

The Guardian reports on internal documents that reportedly detail how TikTok instructs its moderators to delete or limit the reach of videos touching on topics sensitive to China such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and subsequent massacre, Tibetan independence or the sanctioned religious group Falun Gong.

U.S. politicians begin to raise alarms about TikTok's influence, calling for a federal investigations of its Musical.ly acquisition and a national security probe into TikTok and other Chinese-owned apps. That investigation begins in November, according to news reports.

The Pentagon recommends that all U.S. military personnel delete TikTok from all phones, personal and government-issued. Some services ban the app on military owned phones. In January, the Pentagon bans the app from all military phones.

TikTok becomes the second-most downloaded app in the world, according to data from analytics firm SensorTower.

Privacy groups file a complaint alleging TikTok is still violating U.S. child-protection laws and flouting a 2019 settlement agreement. The company “takes the issue of safely seriously” and continues to improve safeguards, it says.

TikTok hires former Disney executive Kevin Mayer as its chief executive officer in an apparent attempt to improve its U.S. relations. Mayer resigns three months later.

India bans TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps in response to a border clash with China.

President Donald Trump says he is considering banning TikTok as retaliation for China's alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump issues a sweeping but vague executive order banning American companies from any “transaction” with ByteDance and its subsidiaries, including TikTok. Several days later, he issues a second order demanding that ByteDance divest itself of TikTok's U.S. operations within 90 days.

Microsoft confirms it is exploring acquisition of TikTok. The deal never materializes; neither does a similar overture from Oracle and Walmart. TikTok, meanwhile, sues the Trump administration for alleged violation of due process in its executive orders.

Joe Biden is elected president. He doesn't offer new policy on TikTok and won't take office until January, but Trump's plans to force a sale of TikTok start to unravel anyway. The Trump administration extends the deadlines it had imposed on ByteDance and TikTok and eventually lets them slide altogether.

Newly sworn-in President Joe Biden postpones the legal cases involving Trump's plan to ban TikTok, effectively bringing them to a halt.

TikTok announces it has more than a billion monthly active users.

A Wall Street Journal report finds TikTok algorithms can flood teens with a torrent of harmful material such as videos recommending extreme dieting, a form of eating disorder.

TikTok announces new rules to deter the spread of harmful material such as viral hoaxes and promotion of eating disorders.

“The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical,” a project created by two fans of the Netflix show as a TikTok project, wins the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.

TikTok becomes the most downloaded app in the world, beating out Instagram, according to SensorTower data.

BuzzFeed reports that China-based ByteDance employees have repeatedly accessed the nonpublic information of TikTok users, based on leaked recordings from more than 80 internal TikTok meetings. TikTok responds with a vague comment touting its commitment to security that doesn't directly address the BuzzFeed report.

TikTok also announces it has migrated its user data to U.S. servers managed by the U.S. tech firm Oracle. But that doesn't prevent fresh alarm among U.S. officials about the risk of Chinese authorities accessing U.S. user data.

FBI Director Chris Wrap raises national security concerns about TikTok, warning that Chinese officials could manipulate the app's recommendation algorithm for influence operations.

ByteDance also said it fired four employees who accessed data on journalists from Buzzfeed News and The Financial Times while attempting to track down leaks of confidential materials about the company.

The White House gives federal agencies 30 days to ensure TikTok is deleted from all government-issued mobile devices. Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission warn that ByteDance could share TikTok user data with China’s authoritarian government.

Legislators grill TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at a six-hour congressional hearing where Chew, a native of Singapore, attempts to push back on assertions that TikTok and ByteDance are tools of the Chinese government.

TikTok said it was restricting a tool some researchers use to analyze popular videos on the platform.

A bill to ban TikTok or force its sale to a U.S. company gathers steam in Congress. TikTok brings dozens of its creators to Washington to tell lawmakers to back off, while emphasizing changes the company has made to protect user data. TikTok also annoys legislators by sending notifications to users urging them to “speak up now” or risk seeing TikTok banned; users then flood congressional offices with calls.

The House of Representatives passes the TikTok ban-or-sell bill.

The Senate follows suit, sending the bill to President Biden, who signs it.

FILE - A TikTok sign is displayed on their building in Culver City, Calif., March 11, 2024. If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that's probably because it has, at least if you're measuring via internet time. What's now in question is whether it will be around much longer — and if so, in what form. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)