TikTok set to launch standalone US app in move towards sale of Stateside operations
Over the past several months, TikTok employees have been working under tight deadlines to build a new, US-specific version of TikTok by transferring and duplicating the application's codebase — including AI models, algorithms, features, and user data — from the global platform, current employees at the company told Reuters, who requested anonymity while discussing private matters.
The move could open the door to resolving years of debate over whether the company would share what is considered the crown jewel of the ByteDance-owned short video-sharing platform - the recommendation algorithm powering the Chinese-owned platform, which has been at the centre of the US-China technology standoff.
ByteDance and TikTok declined to comment.
The initiative, known internally as 'M2", has a September deadline, and could represent the biggest technical break between TikTok's US operations and its international business. The change is expected to impact how 170 million U.S. users access global content and how non-US creators make money on the platform.
The new US-only app is designed to function independently, similar to Douyin — the version of TikTok available exclusively in mainland China. Users from outside the US will not find the American version in their app store, sources said.
While current content is expected to migrate into the new app, it remains unclear to what degree new content from the global TikTok apps will be integrated into the US version. The new app is expected to use only data from US users to train its recommendation algorithms, further distancing it from TikTok's global systems, sources added. As a result, most users will be recommended content generated within the US.
The push to separate TikTok's US app from its global platform has been underway for months, as ByteDance executives prepared various plans to prevent a ban of the app in the US, a move required by recently passed legislation over data security concerns.
The future of the app used by nearly half of all Americans has been up in the air since a 2024 law, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, required ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19.
Washington officials have said TikTok's ownership by ByteDance makes it beholden to the Chinese government, and Beijing could use the app to conduct influence operations against the US and collect data on Americans.
After the first deadline and a brief moment of "going dark" in January, TikTok began moving non-US user data out of American data centres run by Oracle, ensuring only US user data remained on servers in the US, paving the way for separating US and international businesses, according to sources.
The company has also been working on separating the codebase for its core algorithm since last year, a move first reported by Reuters and denied by the company at the time.
Once the split is completed, the core technology and ongoing development will be managed separately from the global TikTok team, although some ByteDance employees could continue supporting TikTok US in an outsourced capacity, one of the sources added.
This has raised internal concerns about whether the algorithm for the US will remain as effective in the long run as it is today, when TikTok can leverage ByteDance's global engineering talent and product expertise.
The project comes as ByteDance faces continued political pressure in Washington to divest its business. A deal had been in the works this spring to spin off TikTok's US operations into a new US-based firm, but it was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.
If a sale is finalized, the new app is expected to be owned by a joint venture formed by an American investor consortium and ByteDance, which will maintain a minority stake.
The consortium, which has emerged as the frontrunner, includes ByteDance's current shareholders Susquehanna International Group (SIG), General Atlantic, KKR, as well as new investors such as Blackstone and Andreessen Horowitz, Reuters previously reported. Oracle is also likely to take a stake.
Still, it remains unclear whether Beijing has approved the plan to copy the algorithm or sell TikTok's US operations.
During previous negotiations, Chinese authorities expressed strong reluctance to allow the export of TikTok's recommendation algorithm, widely seen as ByteDance's valuable asset and a key driver of its global popularity.
In 2020, when the Trump administration first pushed for a sale of TikTok's US business, China updated its export control rules to cover technologies such as recommendation algorithms, effectively giving the government a say over any transfer.
At the time, TikTok's management team rejected the plan of hiving off its US operations as detrimental to both users and the global network, according to people with knowledge of the decision.
Now, the talks on TikTok's fate are also part of President Trump's broader trade negotiations with China over tariffs, sources said.
Mr Trump said last week he would resume talks with China about a TikTok deal. While he said he was "not confident" about Beijing's approval, Trump added, "I think the deal is good for China and it's good for us."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on Trump's tariff moves: the US president goes back on the trade offensive
It has been clear this week that Donald Trump has returned with some gusto to his tariff agenda. Having had to retreat after so-called Liberation Day in early April, he is again spraying around threats of higher tariffs on imports from US trading partners. It remains to be seen which of this are implemented and for how long. But the potential damage to the international economy – and to the US itself – is significant. While Trump had to row back on his initial menu of tariffs, it is worth noting that significant new charges were still introduced. The US has imposed an additional 10 per recent tariff on most imports and higher charges on steel, aluminium and cars. It has now upped the ante with one of its major trade partners, Canada and has threatened another, Brazil, with 50 per cent tariffs, largely on political grounds. As has happened a few times in recent months, some of these threats may never turn into action. But they continue to create uncertainty and risk for the world economy. Trump's renewed focus on tariffs has provided a difficult backdrop for attempts to reach an outline agreement between the EU and the US, which would provide the basis for future talks. It would also, for now at least, remove the threat of a wider transatlantic trade war. READ MORE Reports suggest that the basis of such an agreement has been worked out, meaning the next few days will be important. EU foreign ministers are due to discuss the issue on Monday. One decision that faces them is whether to delay an EU retaliation package for the first set of Trump tariffs on steel and aluminium. If, by Monday, a deal is still on the cards, they will no doubt do this. But both sides will know that EU retaliation cannot be delayed forever – and the risk is that if this happens then the risk of a trade war increases. If a deal is agreed by the European Commission with Washington it will be interesting to see the reaction in national capitals. While the commission will have kept in touch them all along, some controversial topics seem to be in the mix – such as the US call for higher tariffs on EU food products. It also remains to be seen what happens with cars, an issue of vital interest to Germany. For Ireland there are a few areas of key importance. One is trying to avoid a full-scale trade war. The second is the general level of tariffs which will apply to EU imports to the US. The third are sectoral issues and in particular what happens to food products and drinks. And the fourth is whether the agreement says anything about the pharma sector, the subject of a separate process based on a report being completed for the US president. So there is a lot at stake here for Ireland in the short-term, as well as longer-term concerns. The uncertainty will roll on for many months yet, but we should get some important pointers in the days to come.
Irish Examiner
9 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Estate got loan to fight legal proceedings over land deal with Magniers
The wife of a man being sued by John Magnier over the purported sale of a Co Tipperary estate to him has told the High Court how they had to get a commercial loan to fight the proceedings over the collapsed land deal. Anna Thomson-Moore told the High Court the stress and impact of the proceedings initiated against them was "enormous". She said it also delayed the family's plans to move to her native Australia to attend to the health needs of their son, who needs around-the-clock care. Billionaire Mr Magnier wants the court to enforce a €15m deal he claims he agreed with Richard Thomson-Moore in a hand-shake deal for 751 acres of the land in Co Tipperary on August 22, 2023, at Mr Magnier's Coolmore home. In her evidence on Friday, Ms Thomson-Moore told barrister Martin Hayden that on September 7, 2023 — two weeks after the claimed handshake deal — Mr Magnier called to Barne Estate with his son, JP, and met with the Thomson-Moores, who told Mr Magnier that they had to work through tax issues and involve the trustees of the estate to complete any deal. Ms Thomson-Moore said that at the end of that conversation, their estate agent, John Stokes, who had walked out with the Magniers, returned to the house with two brown envelopes given to him by JP containing a total of €50,000 in cash — €25,000 in each — about which she felt "uncomfortable" and told Mr Stokes this. Ms Thomson-Moore told Mr Hayden that the money was put in their safe and that the following morning they decided to return the money as Ms Thomson-Moore was now "very uncomfortable" with the situation. The Magnier side have told the court that the money was a token of "appreciation" to the Thomson-Moores for letting the Magnier side onto the land before any sale was finalised. The Magnier side were ultimately gazumped by Irish-born, US-based construction magnate Maurice Regan, who offered €22.25m, and was made the preferred bidder. Mr Regan is not a party to the case. The Magnier side has sued the Barne Estate, Mr Thomson-Moore and three companies of IQEQ (Jersey) Ltd group, seeking to enforce the purported deal, which they say had been "unequivocally" agreed. The Barne defendants say there was never any such agreement, as they needed the consent of the trustees to finalise any agreement, and subsequently they preferred to sell the estate to Mr Regan. Barne Estate has been held for the benefit of Richard Thomson-Moore and others by a Jersey trust. Mr Magnier claims that the deal had been agreed at the kitchen meeting and that there had been no mention of it being subject to trustee approval, which he has said to the court on numerous occasions. Ms Thomson-Moore told the High Court that Mr Magnier was told a number of times prior to the alleged deal that any agreement was subject to the consent of the trustees. Exclusivity agreement Both sides entered into an exclusivity agreement from August 31 to September 30, 2023, stipulating that the estate would not permit itself or its representatives to solicit or encourage any expression of interest, inquiry or offer on the property from anyone other than Mr Magnier. However, during September 2023, Ms Thomson-Moore sad Mr Regan had offered around €20m for the estate but the trustees recommended honoring the exclusivity agreement with Mr Magnier. Ms Thomson-Moore said she was "frustrated" that the trustees were not looking at the higher offer at all. After the expiry of the exclusivity deal, she said that there was a "flurry" of calls in early October, 2023, during which time Mr Stokes told the Thomson-Moores that Mr Magnier had told the estate agent he would take the matter to court and "tie this up for years and millions in litigation". Ms Thomson-Moore said a commercial loan was taken out by the defendants under Barne Estate Ltd in order to provide liquidity to defend the Magnier action. "We did not have the means to defend these proceedings without a loan. "I think it is important to have access to justice and we were being steamrolled into proceedings because of a lack of cash and it would not be fair. "It felt like an onslaught of proceedings that kicked off very quickly," she told the court. The case continues before Mr Justice Max Barrett.
The 42
10 hours ago
- The 42
Crystal Palace will drop down to Conference League over ownership rules
Crystal Palace have been forced to drop down to the Conference League after falling foul of UEFA's rules on multi-club ownership. Palace qualified for the Europa League thanks to their FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May, but under Article Five of UEFA's club competition regulations, clubs wishing to be eligible for qualification in 2025-26 had to be able to demonstrate as of March 1 that no individual or legal entity had control or influence over more than one club in the same competition. UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) determined that American businessman John Textor's interest in both Palace and Lyon meant only one of the clubs could enter the Europa League, with Lyon's higher league position edging out Palace. Palace will drop into the Conference League, with Nottingham Forest expected to replace them in the Europa League, though this was not immediately confirmed by UEFA. Advertisement UEFA said the decision could be appealed against at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). League of Ireland side Drogheda United tried – and failed – to have their expulsion from the Conference League reversed due to similar multi-club issues. UEFA had to postpone a decision in this case pending the outcome of an appeal by Lyon against a decision by French football's financial regulator to relegate them to the second division. Lyon had reached a settlement with UEFA agreeing to be excluded from European competition if that relegation was upheld on appeal, but on Wednesday the club learned they had overturned the original decision and held on to their top-flight spot. Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest are considering legal action against Tottenham over an alleged illegal approach for Morgan Gibbs-White. The England international was set for a medical in north London today after Spurs were understood to have triggered Gibbs-White's £60million release clause. However, Forest have accused the Europa League winners of contacting Gibbs-White directly rather than making an official approach. The PA news agency understands Forest are furious and, in response, are drawing up legal papers with a view to reporting Spurs to the Premier League. As result, the deal appears to be on hold for now, although Forest are powerless to stop it happening if Spurs go through the proper channels. Tottenham have been approached for comment by the PA news agency.
