The White House on Monday said a US version of TikTok would feature a homegrown model of the app’s prized algorithm, potentially clearing one of the main obstacles to keeping the Chinese-owned platform online in the United States.
Often described as TikTok’s “secret sauce,” the fate of the video-sharing app’s algorithm was one of the main question marks in persuading China to allow the platform’s transfer to US ownership.
A law passed under President Donald Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, has forced current owner ByteDance to sell its US operations or face a ban of the hugely popular app in its biggest market.
US policymakers, including Trump in his first presidency, have warned that China could use TikTok to mine data from Americans or exert influence through its state-of-the-art algorithm.
Trump has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the ban while the White House looked for a team of domestic buyers for TikTok’s US business.
As part of its ongoing trade talks with Beijing, it has also sought permission from Chinese authorities to allow one of their most successful tech champions to hand over the corporate reins — and algorithm — to Americans.
Under the proposal presented by a senior White House official to reporters, TikTok’s US operations would move into a new joint venture based in the United States that would involve a majority-American board of directors.
US cloud giant Oracle, which already works closely with TikTok in the United States, would serve as a security guarantor for the algorithm, ensuring that it remained separate from any Chinese involvement.
‘Fully inspected’
TikTok’s content recommendation algorithm is “going to be fully inspected and retrained by the security provider on US user data, and then it’s going to be operated by that US entity,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The US official said the algorithm would be “continuously monitored” to ensure it is “not being unduly influenced.”
The latest updates came after Trump hailed progress Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping on issues including TikTok, after both leaders spoke by telephone for the second time since Trump’s return to the presidency.
Trump is expected to sign an executive order this week, declaring that the terms of the TikTok deal meet national security requirements, the US official said Monday.
This would also help to assure doubters who worry that the arrangement between Trump and Xi could fall short of the US law’s obligations by leaving too great a role for ByteDance, which would keep control of TikTok globally.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News over the weekend that “there will be seven seats on the board that controls the app in the United States, and six of those seats will be Americans.”
Trump separately added that conservative media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and his eldest son Lachlan could be among the investors who will take control of TikTok in the United States.
Venture capital giants Andreessen Horowitz and Silver Lake are also reported to be part of the deal.
Beijing, however, has said very little about any pending agreement.
“On the TikTok issue, Xi noted that China’s position is clear: the Chinese government respects the will of enterprises and welcomes them to conduct business negotiations based on market rules, to reach solutions that balance interests and comply with Chinese laws and regulations,” state broadcaster CCTV said after the Trump-Xi phone call.
