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by Florian Bodoky
USA and China reach agreement: no TikTok ban, but data in the USA
17.9.2025
Translation: machine translated
Oracle takes over TikTok's US business, the data remains in the USA. ByteDance keeps the algorithm. What remains is a dispute over influence.
After long negotiations over TikTok, the USA and China have reached an agreement: The Chinese company ByteDance, to which TikTok belongs, is handing over its operating business in the USA. This will now be managed by a consortium headed by the Texan tech giant Oracle. ByteDance will only retain a 20 per cent share.
«Operational business» in this context means storing and managing the data of US users. This information is to be stored on servers in the United States, which in turn are under the supervision of US authorities.
Dispel security concerns, but keep the algorithm
The consortium will have less influence over the TikToks algorithm. This algorithm determines what content appears to users. This includes not only adverts, but also the selection of the actual short videos. The algorithm will therefore remain in Chinese hands and will receive a licence to continue using it in the USA. However, certain conditions must be met in order for the new US partners to be able to influence factors that have raised security concerns for the US government - for example, political content that is perceived as anti-American or that could potentially influence political processes. However, it is not yet clear what form this influence will take.
A law passed in 2024 therefore stipulated that ByteDance would either have to sell its US activities or face a ban on the app. President Donald Trump postponed the deadline several times and most recently granted an extension until 16 December 2025. All legal and organisational steps should be completed by then.
Some questions are still unresolved: In addition to the influence on the algorithm in the USA, it is not yet clear to what extent ByteDance will be allowed to get involved in the operational business. It is also not yet clear how exactly the measures ordered will be implemented. One thing is certain: the 2024 law has been complied with and TikTok will not be banned in the USA.
Header image: Shutterstock
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
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