TikTok Deal Near!
Beijing, Sep 19 (EFE).-
TikTok’s powerful recommendation algorithm is shaping up to be the key hurdle in the talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, who are expected to finalize an agreement allowing the app to continue operating in the United States without ties to its Chinese parent, ByteDance.
The two powers reached a “framework agreement” this week in Madrid during the fourth round of trade negotiations, following months of uncertainty and repeated extensions that have left TikTok on the brink of being banned in the US.
On Tuesday, Trump signed a decree extending until Dec. 16 the deadline for ByteDance to divest from TikTok’s US operations or face a nationwide ban.
At the center of the standoff is the question of who will control, maintain, and update the algorithm, the engine behind TikTok’s global success and crucial to its 150 million users in the US.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, quoted by state media, said Beijing would conduct technology export reviews “in accordance with laws and regulations” and backs commercial negotiations “on an equal footing” between companies.
Washington’s 2024 law requires any “qualified divestment” to sever operational ties with a “foreign adversary,” explicitly covering algorithms, effectively preventing ByteDance from retaining control.
But under China’s export control rules, software algorithms cannot be sold abroad without government approval, while Beijing also holds a “golden share” in ByteDance that grants it veto power over such decisions.
“If Chinese authorities veto the transfer of the algorithm, it would be very difficult and costly to build a new one,” warned US analyst Bill Bishop. “YouTube and Meta have spent heavily trying to replicate TikTok’s system and have not yet succeeded.”
He suggested Washington might allow a “transition period” in which TikTok could continue using ByteDance’s algorithm while a US version is developed.
TikTok itself remains blocked in China, where ByteDance operates a separate domestic version, Douyin, fully independent of the international app. EFE aa-sk
