What does this mean for users?
It remains unclear if the 200 million users in the US will notice any difference in their online experience following the creation of a majority US-owned company.
After the agreement, users do not need to download a new app. They were only asked to accept the new terms of service regarding location information and data usage.
TikTok insists that US users will continue to have a “global TikTok experience,” meaning US creators can still be seen internationally. However, the exclusive US algorithm raises questions. “There are still questions about how this new entity will interact with other TikTok versions globally,” said Jennifer Huddleston from the Cato Institute in Washington.
Uncertainty remains about “what influence the US government might have over the algorithm and potential freedom of expression concerns arising from this new deal,” Huddleston added.
One of the main investors in the new TikTok managing company is Larry Ellison, who recently financed his son David’s acquisition of Paramount and the bidding war for Warner Bros, potentially giving the family unprecedented power over US media.
Content creators are closely watching, as their popularity and income depend on the mysterious algorithm’s functioning. Some have already migrated to other platforms, frustrated or concerned about the political turmoil this operation generated.
What does this mean for TikTok?
Before Donald Trump took office, TikTok’s future in the US seemed gloomy.
The app briefly stopped working in its largest market after exhausting all legal options.
Political chaos likely affected TikTok, despite Trump eventually intervening.
“TikTok remains extremely popular in the US, but it faces more competition than ever, especially from Instagram Reels,” said Minda Smiley, an Emarketer analyst.
The algorithm that conquered the world five years ago is no longer unique. Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts now offer similar experiences, keeping interest and attracting advertisers.
According to Emarketer, although TikTok still leads in time spent per user in the US, that advantage is declining, “indicating that the app is struggling to keep users engaged as it did before.”
What does this mean for national security?
The creation of this majority US-capital company seems to have satisfied the Trump administration, but it remains to see if lawmakers who approved the law to ban TikTok in the US agree, warned Andrew Selepak, a media communications professor at the University of Florida.
“The TikTok agreement has not improved anyone’s privacy and has done nothing to enhance national security,” said Kate Ruane from the Center for Democracy & Technology in Washington.
ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, now owns nearly 20% of the firm, with the rest distributed among several firms, mostly US-based.
John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has committed to closely monitor the agreement.
TikTok claims that key features of its social network service in the US, such as e-commerce and marketing, will remain linked to the global entity, which could be problematic.
“I don’t know how e-commerce can function without taking data from me as a US user,” said Selepak.
For Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, “it seems Trump has overshadowed any intention Congress might have had regarding national security.”
