ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, has signed binding agreements with three major investors to establish a joint venture to manage the TikTok app in the United States, with the participation of American and global investors, in an attempt to avoid a TikTok ban in the United States.
The deal represents a significant achievement for the short video app that is regularly used by more than 170 million Americans, following years of conflicts that began in August 2020 when President Donald Trump first tried to ban the app during his first term, but his attempt failed.
The deal, which mirrors details announced by the White House in September and values TikTok's operations in the United States at about 14 billion dollars, is expected to be completed on January 22nd.
Details of the new deal were revealed in an internal memo from TikTok's CEO Shou Zi to his employees. It should be noted that this memo is not yet an official confirmation; as neither "ByteDance" nor "TikTok" has issued any statement so far, but the memo is expected to indicate that an official announcement is imminent.
But what does the memo's disclosed agreement details mean for app users in the United States?
How will users be affected?
For TikTok users in the United States, there are expected to be some implications of this agreement.
Firstly, the new owners of TikTok in the United States are expected to be responsible for retraining the content recommendation algorithm. This algorithm is one of the reasons for the app's great success and user addiction.
There were American concerns about the possibility of external manipulation of TikTok’s feed, and for this reason, there was a desire to retrain the algorithm for users in the United States.
It is not currently clear how this change might affect the user experience in the United States, but it is certainly expected to have implications.
In addition, the "TikTok US" platform will be subject to auditing and verification of compliance with the agreed national security terms.
After the deal is completed, "TikTok US" will become an independent entity, subject to U.S. data protection laws, algorithm security, content oversight policies, and other regulatory requirements.
The new ownership structure might ease the regulatory pressures that threatened a potential ban on the app in the United States, providing more stability and continuity for content creators, advertisers, and companies that rely on the platform.
As for potential long-term changes, such as adjusting data handling policies or content oversight or product features, they are likely to be implemented gradually, as part of the app's efforts to comply with security and regulatory requirements in the United States.
