U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order approving a plan to restructure TikTok operations in the country to address national security concerns.
TikTok is a massively popular short-form video platform owned by Chinese firm ByteDance. The social media service has a strong presence in the U.S., counting more than 170 million users, according to statistics published at the beginning of the month.
The platform isn’t just for entertainment, as many creators in the country depend on it for income, and businesses use it to advertise and promote brands and products.
The risk of user data being accessed by the Chinese government, as well as that of the platform being used to influence and distribute propaganda, sparked increasingly larger concerns in the United States, which resulted in a short-lived ban on January 19.
The next day, President Trump issued an executive order postponing the enforcement, followed by several similar actions until a divestiture plan could be formulated, approved, and agreed upon.
The latest White House announcement confirms that the involved parties have now agreed on a plan for TikTok to continue to be available to U.S. users, by separating the platform from ByteDance and sold to a U.S. owner.
The approved framework agreement suggests the following key points:
- A new U.S.-based joint venture will run TikTok in the United States
- The divestiture also covers Lemon8, CapCut, and related apps/websites
- That entity will be majority-owned and controlled by U.S. persons
- ByteDance and its affiliates will now own less than 20% of this new entity
- U.S. entities will fully control algorithms, code, and content moderation
- U.S. user data must be stored in an American-run cloud environment
- Security partners will monitor software, algorithms, and data flows
- ByteDance will be excluded from the company’s security committee
Oracle, which has been working with TikTok in the U.S. since 2020, hosting user data from the region, will now take an expanded and more formalized role.
Along with other American investors, reportedly Andreessen Horowitz and private equity firm Silver Lake Management, the company will manage TikTok's operations and algorithm.
The American software and cloud services giant will serve as a security provider for TikTok’s U.S. operations, safeguarding user data and auditing algorithm and moderation practices.
TikTok’s algorithms and content recommendation models will now be retrained using only U.S.-approved data, ensuring that there will be no foreign influence.
This retraining process will be inspected, validated, and continually overseen by the designated security partners, including Oracle.
According to Bloomberg, users in the U.S. will also have to transition to a new app that will replicate the original algorithm for content recommendations based on U.S. user data.
This doesn’t affect non U.S.-based TikTok users, who may continue to use the global platform, which remains under ByteDance’s complete control.
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Comments
GT500 - 6 months ago
Typo: "The social media servuce"
GT500 - 6 months ago
While I'm not familiar with all of the companies involved in the deal, it still seems like it's decent. Having multiple companies looking at the algorithm and monitoring its data is probably a good idea, as that might cut down on a single company pushing propaganda (which is an issue we have with YouTube and Twitch).
DrkKnight - 6 months ago
Don't bank on it
Never underestimate our governments ability to f@#k up a wet dream.
There taking it away from one entity to stop spying tactics only to start spying tactics of their own.
GT500 - 6 months ago
They were probably already doing spying on TikTok. It's not like stuff on TikTok was hidden or anything.
The important reason to take TikTok away from a Chinese company is the algorithm. They can promote content that radicalizes people to destabilize our country, and since they are in China our government can't do anything about it. Once the companies controlling the algorithm are local American companies, they can shut that down and reduce the amount of radical content being promoted by the algorithm. They can also make sure that content like that gets removed, and content that features people committing crimes gets reported to law enforcement.
thatirish - 6 months ago
So basically replacing one propaganda machine with another, I get it.
DQ52 - 6 months ago
"So basically replacing one propaganda machine with another, I get it."
Propaganda by definition is not necessarily nefarious or meant to mislead. A culture\country would want to proliferate benevolent propaganda to promote the culture\country. And that culture\country would want to block or shutoff propaganda that went against it or was negative towards it, especially if that propaganda was misleading (I am saying culture/country as that does not mean specific to an administration because that's just a power play). As an American I am all for truthful and genuine pro-American "propaganda" and am fine with anti-American propaganda being stopped. I do however think any opportunity for misuse of such a thing should be monitored by the people such that the people keep the government in check. Even if you believe 1 admin is using something appropriately, any other admin can come in and misuse it. The counter to government is the people and we must always be vigilant.
h_b_s - 6 months ago
This is not true. Propaganda by definition and use is deceptive and misleading, even if it tells the truth about a topic.
From the Oxford dictionary:
Propaganda (n): ideas or statements that may be false or present only one side of an argument that are used in order to gain support for a political leader, party, etc.
Presenting only one side of an argument while purposely omitting countervailing, cherry picking facts, demonizing rivals or building pedestals for heroes for constituent distraction is just as deceptive and immoral as telling half truths and outright lies. Just because propaganda is widely believed "benevolent" doesn't make it any less destructive to the society that holds it. The important part about propaganda is not whether or not the statements are true and factual. It's the intent behind the action meant to mislead, destroy, distract, or lay a claim to the detriment of others usually by embellishing or absenting context.
OP isn't wrong. This current administration is working hard, abusing an almost unrestrained power of the chief executive due to institutional failures in the other two branches and long-known structural weaknesses in our constitution, to silence facts, opinions, ignoring or fabricating contexts, and manufacturing conspiracies to support its wholesale propaganda machine. The consortium that ends up in control over US TikTok operations is going to feel the same pressure to silence criticism or countervailing information to that machine. Besides, even if the data no longer flows to China by direct connection, it'll still end up there because these companies can't be trusted any more than the Chinese to keep the wealth of user data they collect safe. They'll inevitably market it or lose control over it from attacks or likely both.
GT500 - 6 months ago
Websters is American English:
1: a congregation of the Roman curia having jurisdiction over missionary territories and related institutions
2: the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person
3: ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause
Propaganda doesn't have to be false or misleading.
DQ52 - 6 months ago
"This is not true. Propaganda by definition and use is deceptive and misleading, even if it tells the truth about a topic.
From the Oxford dictionary:
Propaganda (n): ideas or statements that may be false or present only one side of an argument that are used in order to gain support for a political leader, party, etc.
Presenting only one side of an argument while purposely omitting countervailing, cherry picking facts, demonizing rivals or building pedestals for heroes for constituent distraction is just as deceptive and immoral as telling half truths and outright lies. Just because propaganda is widely believed "benevolent" doesn't make it any less destructive to the society that holds it. The important part about propaganda is not whether or not the statements are true and factual. It's the intent behind the action meant to mislead, destroy, distract, or lay a claim to the detriment of others usually by embellishing or absenting context.
OP isn't wrong. This current administration is working hard, abusing an almost unrestrained power of the chief executive due to institutional failures in the other two branches and long-known structural weaknesses in our constitution, to silence facts, opinions, ignoring or fabricating contexts, and manufacturing conspiracies to support its wholesale propaganda machine. The consortium that ends up in control over US TikTok operations is going to feel the same pressure to silence criticism or countervailing information to that machine. Besides, even if the data no longer flows to China by direct connection, it'll still end up there because these companies can't be trusted any more than the Chinese to keep the wealth of user data they collect safe. They'll inevitably market it or lose control over it from attacks or likely both."
No one buys this nonsense anymore. You might as well just say Nazis! RACISTS! Phobes! Please.... What is pro-American and what is anti-American is clear and people who are pro-American are done with benefit of the doubt. It is normal, natural and benefits your culture to promote it. If you hate what is, call the current admin, they are offering free cash and a free ride wherever you think is better.
PeterAlexLondon - 6 months ago
The original "Propaganda; How to control the masses" written in America by the nephew of Sigmund Freud; it's thus not a German invention. Dated 1929: in 1929.5 or .6 the advertisers started un unimageable attack on the American population, making them to want every product they want them to use or consume. RIP freedom of choice.
Drags - 6 months ago
"The original "Propaganda; How to control the masses" written in America by the nephew of Sigmund Freud; it's thus not a German invention. Dated 1929: in 1929.5 or .6 the advertisers started un unimageable attack on the American population, making them to want every product they want them to use or consume. RIP freedom of choice."
"original" - lol...
"Propaganda is a modern Latin word, the neuter plural gerundive form of propagare, meaning 'to spread' or 'to propagate', thus propaganda means the things which are to be propagated.[5] Originally this word derived from a new administrative body (congregation) of the Catholic Church created in 1622 as part of the Counter-Reformation, called the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (Congregation for Propagating the Faith), or informally simply Propaganda.[3][6] Its activity was aimed at "propagating" the Catholic faith in non-Catholic countries"
or even earlier
"Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1508 - 1519) was the first ruler to utilize the power of the printing press for propaganda – in order to build his image, stir up patriotic feelings in the population of his empire"
No-one can claim that "invention", specificly not a country that exists for 5 minutes - historically speaking.