US President Donald Trump has finalized a deal with ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok, to establish a joint venture that will keep the app operating in the US. The move comes as concerns over national security and foreign influence have weighed heavily on lawmakers, who had feared that the Chinese Communist Party could manipulate the app's algorithm to target US users.
Under the terms of the deal, ByteDance retains 19.9% ownership of the joint venture, while three managing investors - Silver Lake, Oracle, and MGX - each hold 15%. Americans will have majority control over the joint venture's seven-member board, with TikTok CEO Shou Chew holding ByteDance's only seat.
Trump claims that the deal meets requirements for "qualified divestiture" to avoid a TikTok ban required under a US law. However, questions remain as lawmakers have yet to analyze the terms of the deal to determine whether this is truly the case. Critics argue that even with majority American ownership, ByteDance's significant stake still poses a risk to national security.
The joint venture will be led by two former TikTok employees: Adam Presser and Kim Farrell. While some experts believe that this arrangement may have mitigated concerns over foreign influence, others warn that the algorithm could take on a right-leaning slant under US control, potentially leading to "domestic propaganda" rather than simply avoiding foreign manipulation.
The Chinese government has not commented on the deal's finalization, but Trump thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping in his Truth Social post. However, some experts have suggested that China benefits from the deal by keeping the most lucrative part of TikTok while the world watches it export its technology to the US.
As for users, there is concern that the app may change under new control. Critics worry that ByteDance's continued ownership of the algorithm could allow the company to continue influencing content and potentially introduce right-leaning biases into the platform. The deal has sparked calls for scrutiny from lawmakers, who want to ensure that any arrangement truly protects national security while keeping TikTok online.
Ultimately, the implications of this deal remain unclear, with experts warning that it may have far-reaching consequences for both national security and social media platforms like TikTok.
Under the terms of the deal, ByteDance retains 19.9% ownership of the joint venture, while three managing investors - Silver Lake, Oracle, and MGX - each hold 15%. Americans will have majority control over the joint venture's seven-member board, with TikTok CEO Shou Chew holding ByteDance's only seat.
Trump claims that the deal meets requirements for "qualified divestiture" to avoid a TikTok ban required under a US law. However, questions remain as lawmakers have yet to analyze the terms of the deal to determine whether this is truly the case. Critics argue that even with majority American ownership, ByteDance's significant stake still poses a risk to national security.
The joint venture will be led by two former TikTok employees: Adam Presser and Kim Farrell. While some experts believe that this arrangement may have mitigated concerns over foreign influence, others warn that the algorithm could take on a right-leaning slant under US control, potentially leading to "domestic propaganda" rather than simply avoiding foreign manipulation.
The Chinese government has not commented on the deal's finalization, but Trump thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping in his Truth Social post. However, some experts have suggested that China benefits from the deal by keeping the most lucrative part of TikTok while the world watches it export its technology to the US.
As for users, there is concern that the app may change under new control. Critics worry that ByteDance's continued ownership of the algorithm could allow the company to continue influencing content and potentially introduce right-leaning biases into the platform. The deal has sparked calls for scrutiny from lawmakers, who want to ensure that any arrangement truly protects national security while keeping TikTok online.
Ultimately, the implications of this deal remain unclear, with experts warning that it may have far-reaching consequences for both national security and social media platforms like TikTok.
I'm really unsure about this whole thing! Like, if ByteDance is still 19.9% owner, doesn't that mean they still got a ton of control over the app? 
And what's with all these managing investors holding 15% each? Doesn't that sound like a lot of strings attached to me? 
I also don't get why some people are worried about TikTok having right-leaning biases, but others are like "oh no, they're gonna manipulate us" 
so they're just gonna let ByteDance keep 19.9% ownership but still claim its all good? 
all this just feels super suspicious
i mean, can we trust that byte dance's ownership won't creep into any right leaning biases? 
sounds like there's still some wiggle room for scrutiny from lawmakers, which is good imo 
. 19.9% is still a big chunk of ownership for byte dance, even with majority control on the board 
. what's stopping them from pulling the strings behind the scenes? and don't even get me started on right-leaning biases 
. how can we be sure that tiktok won't turn into some kinda propaganda platform under new management? need more transparency, imo 
i swear every time i see a tiktok ad or vid i'm like "is this my government trying to brainwash me?" 
anywayz back 2 the deal, some ppl say its good because its a joint venture w/ american companies but others are all like nope it's still gonna be a chinese-owned app 
It's not like we have all the answers here, and I'm not convinced that this deal will actually keep us safe from foreign influence. And what about the algorithm? Will it really be free of biases just because some Americans are in charge now? 
The more I think about it, the more uneasy I am about this whole situation... 
. And what if they do manipulate the algorithm or something? We can't trust them with our data, fam 
. I mean, I get it, Trump thinks he's done his due diligence, but experts are still scratching their heads about this deal... and honestly, so am I 
what if our info gets shared or something? anyway, gotta keep an eye on this one
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. For now, I'm keeping an eye on it