The whole TikTok drama took an unexpected turn on Sunday. Just a few hours after the ban backed by the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act went into effect, the platform announced that it was working to restore the service.
Incoming President Donald Trump, who will take office on Jan. 20, told NBC News that he’d “most likely” grant a 90-day extension to allow TikTok to continue operating. The goal is for ByteDance, the Chinese company behind the app, to resolve the situation. However, the challenge remains: TikTok doesn’t seem willing to comply with U.S. demands.
TikTok’s algorithm for users. One key reason for TikTok’s success is its algorithm. No other social media platform has an algorithm as finely tuned and capable of delivering interesting personalized content within minutes.
This is also true for content creators. No other app offers the same level of visibility as TikTok. The algorithm promotes content in a way that gaining hundreds of thousands of views is relatively easy.
TikTok’s algorithm for China. However, the key to TikTok’s successful algorithm isn’t how it engages users and creators. Instead, it lies in the potential it holds for China. The social media platform acts as a powerful tool for collecting user information. Notably, ByteDance has publicly said that it’ll never sell its algorithm under any circumstances.
As such, TikTok’s algorithm not only differentiates the Chinese app from its direct competitors but is also a strategic asset of significant interest to China. It forms the foundation of TikTok’s business model, and its protection is vital for the company’s survival.
If TikTok is sold, it would likely not retain its current form. Few viable solutions exist in the U.S. The social media platform is the world’s most valuable unlisted company. In early 2024, its market cap was $250 billion, surpassing the value of other tech companies like SpaceX and OpenAI.
Only one of the world’s five largest startups could afford to purchase TikTok. Alternatively, Trump took it to his social media platform Truth Social and suggested the U.S. government could take control of 50% of the Chinese-owned app:
“Without U.S. approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars–maybe trillions. Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose.”
However, if that were to happen, the U.S. government wouldn’t acquire TikTok as we currently know it. Instead, ByteDance would sell TikTok without its algorithm. The app would have the same interface and user database, but it’d lack its most crucial component.
TikTok as we know it might not have a future in the U.S. It seems highly unlikely that ByteDance will surrender to U.S. demands, at least not in a way that would maintain TikTok’s current form.
ByteDance is still based in China. As such, it’s still subject to its country’s cybersecurity laws. Although the company has historically tried to distance itself from Chinese authorities, it remains, in the eyes of the U.S., a company controlled by the Asian nation, its main rival.
Image | Nordskov Media
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