Tentative Deal for TikTok Announced with No Mention of Who Controls the Algorithm

After months of so-called negotiations with the People’s Republic of China, which routinely agrees to deals it has no intention of ever honoring, the White House has announced a deal for 80-percent U.S. control of TikTok.

TikTok, the fastest-growing social media app and a Donald Trump favorite, was banned in late 2024 by Congress because its algorithm stole personal data from U.S users. The legislation would bar TikTok if it were not sold, data collection-free, to a U.S. concern.

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The law had a 30-day window to extend the deadline for compliance by ByteDance, the Chinese operator of TikTok, to sell or exit the U.S. market. Upon taking office, Trump extended the deadline, but it has since been eight months, not 30 days, of compliance-free operation of the app.

According to terms announced, in addition to current U.S. investors in TikTok, Oracle, Andreesen Horowitz, and Silver Lake will round out the American side of the deal.

Supposedly, Oracle will store and monitor U.S. user data under something called “Project Texas.”

However, nothing I read or heard specified who will control the algorithm. Unless Oracle can modify or rewrite the existing algorithm, China will still have access to American data.

In Trumpian terms, it was no doubt another “very good” deal.