“China keeps the algorithm”: Critics attack Trump’s TikTok deal

TikTok will continue its operations as President Donald Trump approaches a potential agreement with China concerning the app's ownership. The deal is expected to transfer the majority stake of TikTok to American owners, while U.S. users may be redirected to a new version of the application. On Tuesday, Trump announced an extension of the deadline to December 16 for ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, to divest its ownership in order to comply with regulations aimed at preventing Chinese espionage and algorithm manipulation. This extension is intended to provide ample time for finalizing the deal, which sources inform The Wall Street Journal would involve an investor consortium that includes Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz, alongside existing ByteDance investors like Susquehanna International, KKR, and General Atlantic. Under the proposed structure, TikTok's board is expected to become predominantly American, including a member appointed by the U.S. government. Trump indicated that the finalization of this deal could occur within the next 30 to 45 days, according to CNBC. One critical aspect of the deal is that China will retain control over TikTok's algorithm, merely licensing it to the U.S. This arrangement raises concerns that the American version of TikTok may not function as effectively, as U.S. engineers may need to develop a new set of content-recommendation algorithms from scratch. Although content from American users will still be accessible on the global version of TikTok, there are lingering national security concerns that may prompt further intervention from Congress, particularly from Republican lawmakers like Sen. Chuck Grassley, who have indicated a strong opposition to any framework that allows continued Chinese control over the algorithm.