Trump signs a deal to sell TikTok

Donald Trump has signed a deal to facilitate the sale of TikTok and prevent it from being banned in the US.

So what? The deal is classically Trumpian. It passes majority ownership of the app to a consortium of American investors that includes several moguls closely tied to the US president, including Oracle’s Larry Ellison, the Murdochs and Michael Dell of computer firm Dell. The agreement is months in the making and

• means Americans can keep using the app; but
• could substantially change user experiences; and
• has raised fears about free speech and conservative influence over the US media landscape.

The app. TikTok has more than 170 million users in the US, which is similar to Facebook. The key difference is that TikTok caters to a much younger audience, with nearly 70 per cent under the age of 35. They are also very active: 82 million Americans use the app every day.

The background. TikTok is being sold on national security grounds. US lawmakers see the app as a threat since it allows its Chinese owner ByteDance to hoover up vast amounts of data on its American users.

The law. Last year Congress overwhelmingly voted to ban TikTok unless it was sold to US owners, a rare moment of bipartisan consensus. Trump had extended the deadline for the app’s sale several times.

The details. The agreement will see Oracle take responsibility for handling user data. Perhaps most importantly, the new American owners will get a copy of TikTok’s much vaunted algorithm. ByteDance will retain a minority stake.

The catch. This algorithm is the secret sauce that makes the app so addictive. But Bytedance is expected to offer a pared-down version. The new US app could be significantly different to the one American users know and which will continue to be available elsewhere.

The framework. The situation would broadly reflect how ByteDance runs Douyin, a China-only version of TikTok that operates on Chinese servers, is based on a different code and is heavily moderated under domestic cyber rules.

The concerns. This has raised talk of a ‘Great American Firewall’ that could block foreign content and under which the internet in the US becomes decoupled from the rest of the world. It has also prompted fears about free speech.

Kelly Cotter at Penn State University tells The Observer that the all-new American app could be used to nudge public opinion on key issues or at least shape the window of reality served up to US users on the app.

The appeal. The Republican Party sees Tiktok as a tool to cultivate conservative values among young Americans. Trump is particularly popular on the app, which he credited with helping him win last year’s election. Yesterday he said he would like to make the app “one hundred percent Maga”, but added that “everyone will be treated fairly”.

The irony. Lawmakers mandated the sale of TikTok because they were concerned about it being used to shape public opinion. Back then the concerns focused on the Chinese Communist Party, not conservative business moguls.

In other news. The app is being sold as Trump reshapes the media landscape, which is gaining a distinctive hue of Republican red. This trend is epitomised by Jimmy Kimmel’s recent suspension by Disney. Several local TV networks say they will no longer air his programme, even though he is back at work.

The bigger picture. TikTok’s sale was a key feature of recent trade talks between the US and China about tariffs, fentanyl and semiconductors. Trump is expected to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in October to discuss cooling down their trade war after holding a phone call with him last Friday.

What’s more… Roughly three million US users decamped to Chinese app RedNote in January when it seemed TikTok might shut down stateside. Many returned, but there could be a fresh exodus if the new TikTok is not to their liking.