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  • What is Seedance and why does it have Hollywood spooked? – Tech Digest

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    Seedance 2.0. Image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUKpIVaU12A

    In February 2026, the release of Seedance 2.0 marked a significant shift in the generative AI landscape.

    Developed by ByteDance, the model has gained international attention for its ability to generate high-fidelity video content that challenges traditional production methods. Its arrival has prompted immediate reactions from major media organizations and industry bodies regarding copyright and the protection of digital likeness.

    What is it and who developed it?

    Seedance is a generative AI video model developed by the Chinese technology giant ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. The 2.0 version, launched in early 2026, is an evolution of ByteDance’s “Seed” ecosystem of foundation models. It is currently integrated into ByteDance’s creative suite, including Jianying, the Chinese counterpart to the video-editing app CapCut.

    What are its technical capabilities?

    Seedance 2.0 is capable of generating hyper-realistic video clips up to 15 seconds long. Unlike previous models that relied solely on text-to-video, this model utilizes a multimodal “@ reference system.” This allows creators to provide specific anchors for the AI to follow, including:

    • Face Reference: Users can upload a photo to ensure a character’s face remains consistent across different scenes.

    • Motion Reference: A separate video can be used to dictate specific choreography or physical movements.

    • Audio Integration: The AI can synchronize visual movements with provided audio tracks.

    By using these specific references, the tool solves the “consistency problem” that previously plagued AI video, where characters’ features would often drift or change between frames.

    Why is the film industry concerned?

    The primary concern for the film industry is the precision with which Seedance can replicate the likeness of established actors. Shortly after its launch, a viral video surfaced showing Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in a cinematic sequence. The realism of these “digital twins” was high enough to spark a swift response from industry unions and advocacy groups.

    Legal and Ethical Issues:

    • Consent and Likeness: Labour union SAG-AFTRA has raised alarms over the ease with which the tool can infringe on an actor’s right of publicity. The union argues that the ability to generate a performance without the actor’s physical presence or consent threatens the livelihood of human performers.

    • Copyright Infringement: The Motion Picture Association (MPA), representing studios like Disney and Paramount, has alleged that ByteDance likely trained the model on vast amounts of copyrighted film and television content without authorization. Legal representatives for Disney and Paramount have reportedly issued cease-and-desist notices to address these training data concerns.

    What is the broader impact?

    The tension surrounding Seedance 2.0 highlights the widening gap between rapid technological advances and existing legal frameworks. While ByteDance has stated it intends to implement safeguards and respect intellectual property, the efficiency of the tool is undeniable.

    Production analysts estimate that while a traditional visual effects shot can cost thousands of dollars, a Seedance-generated clip costs less than a dollar. This economic shift, combined with the technical ability to maintain character consistency, is forcing a fundamental reassessment of how digital content is protected and produced globally.

    Disney threatens ByteDance with legal action over AI tool, Four new astronauts arrive at the ISS


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    Chris Price

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  • Get Your AI Off Our ‘Stranger Things’ & ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ Netflix Tells ByteDance In Latest Hollywood Cease & Desist Letter

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    Netflix “will not stand by and watch ByteDance treat our valued IP as free, public domain clip art,” the streamer told the TikTok owner tonight. In a short and stern cease and desist letter over Seedance 2.0, Netflix want generated AI videos of Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters, Squid Game and Bridgerton shut down now.

    With their two-page correspondence and potential legal action to follow, Netflix have linked arms and attorney arsenals with Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount (their rivals to buy WBD), and the still Bob Iger-run Disney to stop the user created content that has been bastardizing their top shows, films and other moneymakers. While Amazon, Apple, Sony and Comcast-owned Universal have yet to join the party, it is clear now with the Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters-led Netflix in the C&D house, this is serious stuff.

    How serious?

    Well, Netflix litigation chief Mindy LeMoine isn’t making as personal as WBD’s Wayne M. Smith did earlier Tuesday with his predecessor and now ByteDance Global General Counsel John Rogovin. Then again, LeMoine does cut to the chase with very specific citations:

    “Current forensic evidence indicates that Seedance is being used to generate unauthorized derivative works including, but not limited to:

    ● Bridgerton: Unauthorized depictions of Season 4 content, specifically featuring characters in a masquerade ball setting. These outputs mirror specific, narratively important costumes like Sophie Baek’s “Lady in Silver” gown. ByteDance has even promoted this content using #Bridgerton tags via its own official social media channels, such as @BytePlusGlobal.

    ● Stranger Things: High-fidelity reboots of the series finale, which feature detailed reproductions of the iconic cast as well as the monsters from the series, including Demogorgons and the Mindflayer.

    ● Squid Game: Seedance has generated recreations of the “Red Light, Green Light” sets and the iconic Young-hee doll. These include unauthorized crossovers, such as inserting real-world figures like Elon Musk into the Squid Game environment.

    ● KPop Demon Hunters: Seedance has reproduced the specific visual style and character designs from our animated musical feature, including the lead character Rumi.”

    ‘KPop Demon Hunters’

    Netflix

    The C&D letter goes on to state: “Netflix has never authorized ByteDance to use our content to generate these images or videos. ByteDance’s activities are willful, and constitute direct and secondary copyright infringement. The use of copyrighted works to create a competing commercial product, especially one that regurgitates the original, is not protected by fair use.”

    Unlike Disney, Paramount and WBD, Netflix are in full FAFO-mode here and give the Chinese tech company three days to set things straight. This comes one day after ByteDance swore they are “taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property and likeness by users.” 

    Netflix isn’t buying it.

    “To avoid immediate litigation, Netflix demands that ByteDance:

    1. Cease Generative Output: Immediately implement technological guardrails to prevent Seedance from generating any content that resembles Netflix’s protected characters, titles, or settings.

    2. Remove Infringing Content: Remove all unlawfully obtained Netflix-owned content from training datasets, and also scrub all existing Seedance-generated videos featuring Netflix IP from all ByteDance-controlled platforms.

    3. Identify All Infringements: Provide an accounting of all instances where Seedance has generated content based on prompts related to Netflix’s IP.

    4. Revoke Third-Party Access: Revoke access for any commercial partners or API users currently utilizing Seedance to generate unauthorized Netflix derivative works.”

    So, as Netflix awaits ByteDance’s response later this week, will it be Amazon, Apple, Sony or Universal sending the next letter? Stay tuned.

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    Dominic Patten

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  • How to stop TikTok tracking you – even when you are not on the app – Tech Digest

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    For American users, TikTok has undergone a massive transformation – and not necessarily for the better. Following years of legislative battles and a trip to the Supreme Court, a new “US version” of the app officially launched in early 2026.

    Known as TikTok USDS Joint Venture, this entity is now majority-owned by American investors, including Oracle and Silver Lake. And while this deal was designed to sever ties with Chinese parent company ByteDance to protect national security, the new terms of service have actually introduced more aggressive tracking.

    Oracle is now retraining the algorithm specifically on US data, and for the first time, the app explicitly states it can collect “precise geolocation” and integrate more deeply with external ad networks.

    However, the reality is that whether you are in the US or the UK, TikTok’s reach extends far beyond the app itself.

    Through “tracking pixels” – tiny, invisible pieces of code embedded on millions of third-party websites –  TikTok can follow you across the web, harvesting data on your health, finances, and interests even if you’ve never created an account.

    Here are seven essential tips to reclaim your privacy and stop the silent surveillance.

    1. Disconnect “Off-TikTok” Activity

    TikTok uses a feature similar to Meta’s “Off-Facebook Activity” to track what you do on other websites. To stop this, go to Settings and Privacy > Ads > Disconnect Advertisers. This prevents the app from tailoring ads based on the data it receives from third-party sites you visit.

    2. Clear Your Activity History

    Even if you disconnect future tracking, TikTok may already have a vast profile of your past browsing habits. In the same Ads menu, select Clear Activity. You can perform this every 24 hours to ensure that any data harvested via tracking pixels is regularly wiped from your advertising profile.


    3. Kill the “Tracking Pixel” at source

    TikTok’s most invasive tool is the “pixel,” which is currently installed on an estimated 5% of the world’s top websites. To block these invisible trackers, switch your browser to DuckDuckGo or Brave, or install a robust extension like uBlock Origin on Firefox. These tools identify and kill the background scripts that transmit your data to TikTok’s servers.

    4. Opt-Out of Precise Geolocation

    Under the new 2026 US terms of service, TikTok has shifted from “approximate” IP-based location to “precise” GPS tracking. To stop this, head to your phone’s system settings (not just the app settings). On iOS, go to Privacy & Security > Location Services > TikTok and set it to “Never.” On Android, use the Permission Manager to deny location access entirely.

    5. Disable “Suggest Your Account to Others”

    To minimize your digital footprint, go to Settings and Privacy > Privacy > Suggest your account to others. Toggle off all options, including phone numbers and Facebook friends. This prevents TikTok from creating “shadow profiles” that link your identity across different social circles and platforms.

    6. Avoid Third-Party Logins

    When signing up for new services or websites, never use the “Log in with TikTok” button. Doing so creates a permanent data bridge between that service and your TikTok profile, allowing the company to monitor your interactions and purchases on that external site with total transparency.

    7. Reset Your Advertising ID

    Your phone has a unique “Advertising ID” that act as a digital fingerprint for trackers. On Android, go to Settings > Privacy > Ads and select Delete Advertising ID. On iOS, ensure “Allow Apps to Request to Track” is toggled off in your Privacy settings. This breaks the link between your device and the profile TikTok has built.

    Conclusion

    The “Americanization” of TikTok in 2026 has proven that ownership changes don’t necessarily equate to privacy improvements. In many ways, the new US entity has become a more refined surveillance machine, legally sanctioned to mine domestic data with even greater precision.

    By following these steps, particularly blocking pixels and resetting your advertising IDs, you can significantly limit the amount of “lifestyle data” TikTok captures.


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    Chris Price

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  • Disney threatens ByteDance with legal action over AI tool, Four new astronauts arrive at the ISS – Tech Digest

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    Disney has the rights to Marvel characters such as Spider-Man (above). Image: Marvel

    Chinese technology giant ByteDance has pledged to curb a controversial artificial intelligence (AI) video-making tool, following threats of legal action from Disney and complaints from other entertainment giants. In the last few days, videos made using the latest version of the app Seedance have proliferated online. Many have been lauded for their realism. But the trend has also sparked alarm from several Hollywood studios that have accused the AI platform’s makers of copyright infringement. On Friday, Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance accusing it of supplying Seedance with a “pirated library” of the studio’s copyrighted characters, including those from Marvel and Star Wars. BBC 

    Google is putting people at risk of harm by downplaying safety warnings that its AI-generated medical advice may be wrong. When answering queries about sensitive topics such as health, the company says its AI Overviews, which appear above search results, prompt users to seek professional help, rather than relying solely on its summaries. “AI Overviews will inform people when it’s important to seek out expert advice or to verify the information presented,” Google has said. But the Guardian found the company does not include any such disclaimers when users are first presented with medical advice. Guardian 

    Andrei Fedyaev, Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir and France’s Sophie Adenot (left to right front row), with Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Christopher Will and and Sergei Mikayev behind. Pic: NASA

    Four new astronauts have arrived at the International Space Station to replace their colleagues who pulled out early over health concerns. SpaceX delivered the US, French and Russian astronauts to the orbital research laboratory 277 miles (446km) up in space, a day after they launched from Cape Canaveral. The new crew members include NASA‘s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrey Fedyaev. The last group of astronauts were forced to evacuate after one of them suffered what officials described as a serious health issue. Sky News 

    A stock market crash triggered by fears around artificial intelligence (AI) has derailed the £575m takeover of a British company. Shares in Pinewood AI, which is listed as Pinewood Technologies, fell by 30pc on Monday after private equity firm Apax said it no longer planned to make a bid for the software provider. Apax said it had pulled out of talks owing to “prevailing challenging market conditions”, a reference to the widespread slump in software stocks in recent weeks. Telegraph 

    As a trillion-dollar company with one of the most recognizable brands in the world, I don’t think Apple has a lot to worry about. But when I looked at the results of a recent poll I ran, asking you, dear readers, if you use Apple Intelligence, the results made me grunt an ‘ooph’. That’s because a hefty 96% of respondents selected the ‘Nope, it’s not for me’ option, leaving a mere 4% to select ‘Yes, it’s pretty good’ as a response. TechRadar 

    Apple’s iOS 27 update will prioritize cleaning up the operating system’s internals, with engineers making changes that could result in better battery life, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.

    iOS 27 Mock Quick
    The effort is said to be similar to what Apple did with its Snow Leopard Mac update years ago, and will involve removing old code, rewriting existing features, and subtly upgrading apps to improve their performance. The result should hopefully be a “snappier, more responsive” OS, says Gurman. Apple is also reportedly planning some interface tweaks, but nothing as dramatic as the Liquid Glass overhaul introduced with iOS 26, which will likely comfort some users.

     


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    Chris Price

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  • Paramount Latest Studio To Hit ByteDance With Cease And Desist Letter Over AI Models

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    Paramount Skydance has joined Disney as the latest Hollywood studio to slam ByteDance over AI models Seedance and Seedream that it says are ripping off intellectual property and must stop.

    “We insist that ByteDance immediately take all necessary steps to (i) prevent violations of our intellectual property rights by ensuring that our content is not used or created by ByteDance or the Seed Platforms going forward, and (ii) remove all infringing instances of Paramount’s content from ByteDance’s platforms and systems,” the David Ellison company’s attorney wrote in a cease and desist letter to Beijing-based ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo.

    The missive was viewed by Deadline.

    “ByteDance markets the Seed Platforms as image and video generation tools that facilitate the creation and dissemination of visual and audiovisual content by their users in response to searches and prompts. However, much of the content that the Seed Platforms produce contains vivid depictions of Paramount’s famous and iconic franchises and characters, which are protected under copyright law, trademark law, and the law of unfair competition (among other doctrines),” Par wrote, ticking off South Park, SpongeBob SquarePants, Star Trek, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Godfather, Dora the Explorer, and Avatar: The Last Airbender as just some of the properties that have been repeatedly infringed by the Seed Platforms in images and videos.

    Par also called it self-evident “that our company’s intellectual property was used to train the models that underlie these tools. Such training was also done without our consent and is a violation of the law. To be very clear, Paramount strongly objects to the use of our legally protected works in any of the manners described above—both as inputs trained upon by these types of models and as works that are created by them—without our express authorization.”

    Amid a rising tide of angst over the Seed platforms, especially video generated by the new Seedance 2.0, Disney Friday sent a cease and desist letter for IP infringement of properties from Star Wars to Marvel to Family Guy.

    The Motion Picture Association and, the Human Artistry Campaign issued statements last week slamming ByteDance.

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  • Disney Sends ByteDance an AI Trophy in the Form of a Cease and Desist Letter Over Seedance 2.0

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    When a company releases a new AI model, it’s become customary for it to make a splash by pissing off an intellectual property owner or some other entity speaking up on behalf of copyrights, preferably spurring some form of legal action or warning.

    OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been the target of lawsuits galore—most famously from the New York Times. Stability was sued, largely unsuccessfully by a consortium of image copyright holders in the UK. OpenAI received a note from Japan when Sora 2 was released, asking it to refrain from what it considers the infringement of anime and manga copyrights. Suno and Udio were at one point targeted by music publishers over alleged copyright violations. There are countless other examples, each with its own allegations and accusations.

    Now apparently it’s ByteDance’s turn. The splashiest new AI model of the past few weeks, in case you haven’t heard, is ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0, which is sort of like Sora 2, except the slop videos it makes are a little less embarrassing to watch.

     

    Seedance 2.0 appears to be pretty versatile, but viral early prompts suggest that users especially like it for its fake ads, frequently starring someone who appears to have the face of Bob Odenkirk for some reason, and for what appear to be little 15-second John Wick movies, except the prompter can insert seemingly anyone they want in place of John Wick, such as (apparently) Harry Potter, or Thanos, or RoboCop.

    As a non-expert and non-lawyer myself, this is just what very much appears to be the case, and I’m not claiming with certainty that anyone is infringing on anything.

    But with that in mind, I’d like to extend my congratulations to TikTok’s original parent company ByteDance on the occasion of its viral AI model! The prize for this accomplishment is a high-profile cease-and-desist letter, in this case from Disney.

    The letter, which was viewed by Axios and reported on Friday afternoon, says Seedance 2.0 comes “with a pirated library of Disney’s copyrighted characters from Star Wars, Marvel, and other Disney franchises, as if Disney’s coveted intellectual property were free public domain clip art.” Characters named in the letter include Baby Yoda, Peter Griffin, Spider-Man, and Darth Vader.

    The letter on behalf of Disney, attributed to an outside lawyer named David Singer, claims “ByteDance is hijacking Disney’s characters by reproducing, distributing, and creating derivative works featuring those characters. ByteDance’s virtual smash-and-grab of Disney’s IP is willful, pervasive, and totally unacceptable.”

    Disney, of course, entered into a content partnership about two months ago with OpenAI, not ByteDance, meaning Disney IP is not free public domain clip art, but highly prized and exclusive clip art. Under the terms of the agreement, OpenAI has explained that Sora will be able to be used “to generate short, user-prompted social videos that can be viewed and shared by fans, drawing from a set of more than 200 animated, masked and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars.”

    At the moment, judging from my own tests, this partnership has not yet been integrated into the Sora product, because Disney characters appeared to be blocked by the app. OpenAI’s page about the Disney deal says Disney implementation should be expected in early 2026.

    Disney is far from alone in making a deal like this. Last year, Universal Music Group, for instance, settled a lawsuit against the AI music generator Udio, and created a music-generation partnership in the process. A few weeks later Warner Music Group did the same thing.  

    But the message that can be gleaned from these cease-and-desists and lawsuits in the context of eventual deals with AI companies appears to be that companies do not so much disapprove of AI being used at will by random internet users to generate content involving their precious intellectual property without concern for artistic merit. It would seem from their actions that the AI should be used at will by random internet users to generate content involving its precious intellectual property without concern for artistic merit only as long as the copyright holders can get their beaks wet.

    It’s not clear how legally compatible the OpenAI-Disney deal would be with any hypothetical future partnership between Disney and ByteDance, but if contract law prevents such a thing, maybe ByteDance will have to settle for an agreement that makes Seedance 2.0 the exclusive slop video generator of Universal-affiliated intellectual property such as Minions and the Fast & Furious cinematic universe.  

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    Mike Pearl

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  • Disney accuses ByteDance of ‘virtual smash-and-grab’ when using copyrighted works to train its AI

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    Disney is going after another generative AI tool, accusing ByteDance and its recently released Seedance 2.0 of using its copyrighted material without permission. As first reported on by Axios, the Walt Disney Company sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, claiming the Chinese company developed its Seedance tool “with a pirated library of Disney’s copyrighted characters from Star Wars, Marvel, and other Disney franchises, as if Disney’s coveted intellectual property were free public domain clip art.”

    The letter, which was obtained by Axios, included examples of Seedance videos featuring copyrighted Disney characters, including Spider-Man, Darth Vader, Peter Griffin and more. Even though ByteDance just released Seedance 2.0 on Thursday, it’s already earned praise, but also indignation from Hollywood studios, when it comes to its AI-generating capabilities.

    With the strong early momentum, Seedance has already found itself in hot water with one of the largest media companies in the world. However, it’s not the first time that Disney has threatened legal action against an AI company, since Character.AI received a cease-and-desist letter for the same offense in September. A few months later, Disney even accused Google of copyright infringement when training its AI models. On the other hand, Disney partnered with OpenAI in a three-year licensing agreement that allows the AI giant to generate images and videos using that highly sought-after intellectual property.

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    Jackson Chen

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  • TikTok finalizes a deal to form a new American entity

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    TikTok has finalized a deal to create a new American entity, avoiding the looming threat of a ban in the United States that has been in discussion for years on the platform now used by more than 200 million Americans.The social video platform company signed agreements with major investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX to form the new TikTok U.S. joint venture. The new version will operate under “defined safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurances for U.S. users,” the company said in a statement Thursday. American TikTok users can continue using the same app.President Donald Trump praised the deal in a Truth Social post, thanking Chinese leader Xi Jinping specifically “for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal.” Trump added that he hopes “that long into the future I will be remembered by those who use and love TikTok.”Adam Presser, who previously worked as TikTok’s head of operations and trust and safety, will lead the new venture as its CEO. He will work alongside a seven-member, majority-American board of directors that includes TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew.The deal ends years of uncertainty about the fate of the popular video-sharing platform in the United States. After wide bipartisan majorities in Congress passed — and President Joe Biden signed — a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it did not find a new owner in the place of China’s ByteDance, the platform was set to go dark on the law’s January 2025 deadline. For a several hours, it did. But on his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep it running while his administration sought an agreement for the sale of the company.“China’s position on TikTok has been consistent and clear,” Guo Jiakun, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing, said Friday about the TikTok deal and Trump’s Truth Social post, echoing an earlier statement from the Chinese embassy in Washington.Apart from an emphasis on data protection, with U.S. user data being stored locally in a system run by Oracle, the joint venture will also focus on TikTok’s algorithm. The content recommendation formula, which feeds users specific videos tailored to their preferences and interests, will be retrained, tested and updated on U.S. user data, the company said in its announcement.The algorithm has been a central issue in the security debate over TikTok. China previously maintained the algorithm must remain under Chinese control by law. But the U.S. regulation passed with bipartisan support said any divestment of TikTok must mean the platform cuts ties — specifically the algorithm — with ByteDance. Under the terms of this deal, ByteDance would license the algorithm to the U.S. entity for retraining.The law prohibits “any cooperation with respect to the operation of a content recommendation algorithm” between ByteDance and a new potential American ownership group, so it is unclear how ByteDance’s continued involvement in this arrangement will play out.“Who controls TikTok in the U.S. has a lot of sway over what Americans see on the app,” said Anupam Chander, a professor of law and technology at Georgetown University.Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX are the three managing investors, each holding a 15% share. Other investors include the investment firm of Michael Dell, the billionaire founder of Dell Technologies. ByteDance retains 19.9% of the joint venture.___Associated Press writers Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.

    TikTok has finalized a deal to create a new American entity, avoiding the looming threat of a ban in the United States that has been in discussion for years on the platform now used by more than 200 million Americans.

    The social video platform company signed agreements with major investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX to form the new TikTok U.S. joint venture. The new version will operate under “defined safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurances for U.S. users,” the company said in a statement Thursday. American TikTok users can continue using the same app.

    President Donald Trump praised the deal in a Truth Social post, thanking Chinese leader Xi Jinping specifically “for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal.” Trump added that he hopes “that long into the future I will be remembered by those who use and love TikTok.”

    Adam Presser, who previously worked as TikTok’s head of operations and trust and safety, will lead the new venture as its CEO. He will work alongside a seven-member, majority-American board of directors that includes TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew.

    The deal ends years of uncertainty about the fate of the popular video-sharing platform in the United States. After wide bipartisan majorities in Congress passed — and President Joe Biden signed — a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it did not find a new owner in the place of China’s ByteDance, the platform was set to go dark on the law’s January 2025 deadline. For a several hours, it did. But on his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep it running while his administration sought an agreement for the sale of the company.

    “China’s position on TikTok has been consistent and clear,” Guo Jiakun, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing, said Friday about the TikTok deal and Trump’s Truth Social post, echoing an earlier statement from the Chinese embassy in Washington.

    Apart from an emphasis on data protection, with U.S. user data being stored locally in a system run by Oracle, the joint venture will also focus on TikTok’s algorithm. The content recommendation formula, which feeds users specific videos tailored to their preferences and interests, will be retrained, tested and updated on U.S. user data, the company said in its announcement.

    The algorithm has been a central issue in the security debate over TikTok. China previously maintained the algorithm must remain under Chinese control by law. But the U.S. regulation passed with bipartisan support said any divestment of TikTok must mean the platform cuts ties — specifically the algorithm — with ByteDance. Under the terms of this deal, ByteDance would license the algorithm to the U.S. entity for retraining.

    The law prohibits “any cooperation with respect to the operation of a content recommendation algorithm” between ByteDance and a new potential American ownership group, so it is unclear how ByteDance’s continued involvement in this arrangement will play out.

    “Who controls TikTok in the U.S. has a lot of sway over what Americans see on the app,” said Anupam Chander, a professor of law and technology at Georgetown University.

    Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX are the three managing investors, each holding a 15% share. Other investors include the investment firm of Michael Dell, the billionaire founder of Dell Technologies. ByteDance retains 19.9% of the joint venture.

    ___

    Associated Press writers Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.

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  • TikTok secures US future with new independent company – Tech Digest

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    TikTok has officially finalized a deal to transfer its American operations into a new, majority US-owned entity, effectively ending years of legal battles and a looming nationwide ban.

    The newly established TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will operate as an independent firm, allowing the short-video app to continue serving its 200 million American users under a structure designed to satisfy federal national security requirements.

    The finalized ownership structure grants a consortium of American and global investors an 80.1% stake in the new business, while the Chinese parent company, ByteDance, retains a minority 19.9% share.

    This specific threshold is critical, as it ensures ByteDance stays below the 20% ownership limit mandated by US divestiture laws.

    Cloud computing giant Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based AI investor MGX serve as the three managing investors, with each holding a 15% stake in the venture. Other notable backers include the Dell Family Office and affiliates of Susquehanna International Group.

    A central component of the agreement involves TikTok’s proprietary recommendation algorithm, often described as its “secret sauce.” Rather than a full sale, ByteDance will license the algorithm to the US entity.

    Under the supervision of Oracle, which acts as the “trusted security partner,” the algorithm will be housed in a secure US cloud environment and completely retrained using only American user data.

    This process is intended to ensure the content feed remains free from foreign manipulation or outside influence, though experts suggest it could result in a “lighter” or different user experience compared to the global version of the app.

    The joint venture is led by CEO Adam Presser, formerly TikTok’s head of operations and Chief Security Officer Will Farrell. They report to a seven-member, majority-American board of directors that includes TikTok global CEO Shou Zi Chew, alongside executives from Oracle and Silver Lake.

    President Donald Trump, who repeatedly delayed the ban to facilitate these negotiations, welcomed the news on social media, thanking Chinese President Xi Jinping for his role in approving the deal. The agreement also extends its security protocols to other ByteDance-owned apps in the US, including CapCut and Lemon8.

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    Chris Price

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  • TikTok Creates Legal Entity to Eventually Maybe Possibly Sell to U.S. Investors (Don’t Call It a Done Deal)

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    A new entity has been created that will allow ByteDance to sell a majority stake in the U.S. operations of TikTok to a group of investors outside of China, according to new reports from the New York Times and Bloomberg. It moves a deal one step closer to completion, following years of uncertainty over whether the app would be banned in the U.S., though TikTok was quick to note that this isn’t a final deal to sell the company.

    The entity will be called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, according to a press release from TikTok, and the major investors include Oracle, the UAE investment firm MGX, and the investment firm Silver Lake, which will own more than 80% of the company, according to the New York Times. Michael Dell is also involved, according to the Times.

    The press release announcement notes that the new joint venture “will retrain, test, and update the content recommendation algorithm on U.S. user data. The content recommendation algorithm will be secured in Oracle’s U.S. cloud environment.” It’s not entirely clear what that means, but obviously there are concerns that Trump and the U.S. government will tinker with the platform to make it more MAGA friendly.

    Congress passed a bipartisan law in 2024, signed by President Joe Biden, that required TikTok to be sold to U.S. interests or be banned in America over national security concerns. The first deadline for the sale/ban was Jan. 19, 2025, but President Trump extended that until April. And then Trump signed an executive order extending it yet again until June. When June rolled around, that was extended again until September. After they blew through that deadline, it was extended again to January 22.

    Trump had no authority to just keep extending the deadline, but he did it anyway, which seems to be a theme of this presidency. He had initially tried to ban TikTok during his first term, but that got tied up in the courts and fizzled out. Trump then pulled a 180 while campaigning for the presidency in 2024, insisting that he liked TikTok because it was popular with young people and he had a lot of supporters there who could help him win the election.

    It’s entirely possible that this news is in many ways another headfake, given the fact that we’ve heard about a “done deal” many times since President Donald Trump was inaugurated for a second time in January 2025. Back in October 2025, we heard the same thing. A month earlier, there was a big announcement that a “framework” for a deal had been reached.

    And when Gizmodo reached out to TikTok on Thursday after the New York Times first broke the news, our email asked about a finalized deal. “I saw your question and want to call out that ‘deal to sell’ isn’t accurate framing. Please see language used in the press release,” a spokesperson for the company wrote.

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  • TikTok finalizes deal for its US entity

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    TikTok has finalized the deal for its US entity, with its parent company ByteDance selling majority of its stake to a group of non-Chinese investors. The deal was closed just before the Trump Administration’s latest deadline, banning the app in the US unless it was divested from ByteDance, which will only retain 20 percent of the new entity. TikTok’s investors will own 80 percent, with Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, an Emirati-state owned investment firm, taking 15 percent each. Other investors include the investment firm of Dell’s CEO.

    The terms of the deal were first leaked last month, after TikTok CEO Shou Chew reportedly told employees in a memo that TikTok and ByteDance had agreed to a group of investors. This ends a lengthy saga and months of slow progress as the agreement was being worked out, ensuring that the app will remain available in the US after years of being on the verge of a ban in the country.

    According to TikTok’s announcement, the joint venture will protect American users’ data with Oracle’s secure US cloud environment. It will also retrain TikTok’s algorithm on US users’ data and will be in charge of content moderation in the US. The entity promises interoperability, as well, promising that users will still get international content and, if they’re a creator, viewers. “The safeguards provided by the Joint Venture will also cover CapCut, and Lemon8 and a portfolio of other apps and websites in the US,” TikTok said.

    The new entity will be overseen by a seven-member board of directors, most of whom are Americans. It includes, Shou Chew, the Chief Executive Officer of TikTok, Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban, Oracle Executive Vice President Kenneth Glueck and MGX Chief Strategy and Safety Officer David Scott.

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  • What to know as U.S. and China sign off on TikTok deal

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    A year after a law that effectively banned TikTok from the U.S. went into effect, China and the U.S. have signed off on a deal, according to a White House official. Kelly O’Grady explains.

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  • Snapchat owner settles social media addiction lawsuit days before trial – Tech Digest

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    Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, has reached a settlement in a high-profile social media addiction lawsuit just days before it was scheduled to go to trial in Los Angeles.

    The deal, revealed during a California Superior Court hearing, marks a significant turn in one of the first major legal challenges to how platform algorithms affect youth mental health.

    While the specific financial terms of the settlement remain confidential, Snap informed the BBC that all parties involved were “pleased to have been able to resolve this matter in an amicable manner.”

    The agreement removes Snap as a defendant in this specific case, though the company remains involved in other consolidated addiction lawsuits currently moving through the court system.

    The lawsuit was brought by a 19-year-old woman, identified as K.G.M., who alleged that the intentional design of social media platforms created a compulsive need for use that severely impacted her mental health.

    Despite Snap’s exit, the trial is still set to proceed on January 27 against the remaining three defendants: Meta (the parent of Instagram), ByteDance (TikTok), and Alphabet (YouTube).

    The case is being closely monitored by legal experts because it challenges Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

    While social media firms have historically used this law to shield themselves from liability for third-party content, plaintiffs now argue that the platforms’ actual design – including notifications and algorithm choices – is a defective product that causes harm.

    Until this week’s settlement, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel was expected to testify. Now, the spotlight remains on Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, who is still slated to take the stand as jury selection begins.

    For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv

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  • TikTok Reaches Deal With US Investors: Here’s Who Owns What

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    An Oracle-backed investor group is set to take majority control of TikTok’s U.S. operations, pending regulatory approval. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    A yearslong saga over the future of TikTok in America is nearing its end. The U.S. division of the popular social media app, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, will soon be majority-owned by a coalition of U.S. investors that includes Oracle.

    The agreement was detailed in an internal memo from TikTok CEO Shou Chew, first reported by Axios. Oracle, alongside private equity firm Silver Lake and the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX, will own 45 percent of TikTok’s U.S. operations. ByteDance will retain a stake just below 20 percent, and affiliates of existing ByteDance investors will own the remaining roughly one-third.

    MGX did not respond to requests for comment from Observer. Oracle and Silver Lake declined to comment.

    The development follows years of concern over ByteDance’s access to data on U.S. citizens, an estimated 170 million of whom use TikTok. Efforts to either ban the app in the U.S. or force a sale to American owners began last year under the Biden administration, with deadlines later extended multiple times by President Donald Trump.

    The terms of TikTok’s new deal appear to closely mirror a framework laid out by the White House in September to place the company’s U.S. division in domestic hands. Under that proposal, Oracle would be responsible for recreating TikTok’s algorithm by retraining a new version for the U.S. market and protecting American user data in a secure cloud. At the time, Trump said Chinese President  Xi Jinping had expressed approval of the plans.

    Oracle will play a similar role in TikTok’s new agreement, which is expected to close on Jan. 22. The American owners of the division will oversee “retraining the content commendation algorithm on U.S. user data to ensure the content feed is freed from outside manipulation,” according to the Chew’s memo, which also notes that Oracle will serve as a “trusted security partner” upon the deal’s completion.

    Austin-based Oracle, co-founded by billionaire Larry Ellison, has emerged as the winner among a crowded group of U.S. players—including MrBeast and Perplexity AI—bidding for ownership of TikTok. The deal is set to further deepen ties between TikTok and the tech company, which already helps the platform store U.S. user data. Oracle’s shares are up by more than 7 percent today (Dec. 19).

    The new deal is expected to value TikTok at approximately $14 billion, according to Axios. After it closes, TikTok’s U.S. operations “will operate as an independent entity with authority over U.S. data protection, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurance,” the memo said, while “TikTok global’s U.S. entities will manage global product interoperability and certain commercial activities, including e-commerce, advertising and marketing.” The U.S. venture will be governed by a seven-member, majority-American board.

    The agreement, which is still pending approval from Chinese regulators, would resolve a longstanding point of contention between Washington and Beijing. Not all lawmakers, however, are convinced that it goes far enough to safeguard national security or protect the data of U.S. citizens.

    “This deal won’t do a thing to protect the privacy of American users,” said Senator Rob Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, in a statement.”It’s unclear that it will even put TikTok’s algorithm in safer hands.”

    TikTok Reaches Deal With US Investors: Here’s Who Owns What

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  • TikTok agrees to deal to cede control of US business to American investor group | TechCrunch

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    TikTok has reached a deal to cede a substantial portion of its U.S. operation to a group of American investors, thus ending a years-long tussle in which the federal government has sought to force the platform to do just that.

    The new partnership is described as a “new TikTok U.S. joint venture” in an internal memo from ByteDance CEO Shou Chew, which was viewed by TechCrunch.

    That arrangement will see major American investors take over significant control of the U.S.-based business. The newly formed investor group includes cloud giant Oracle, the tech-focused private equity firm Silverlake, and MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm focused on AI. Together, those companies will own 45% of the U.S. operation, while ByteDance retains a nearly 20% share, the memo states. The new entity formed by this partnership has been dubbed “TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.”

    That new entity will be responsible for overseeing the app, including data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance, the memo states. “A trusted security partner will be responsible for auditing and validating compliance with the agreed upon National Security Terms, and Oracle will be the trusted security partner upon completion of the transaction,” the document says.

    The closing date for the deal is listed as January 22, 2026. The news was originally reported by Axios.

    Much of the deal, as it has been described in the memo, parallels the language in an executive order signed by President Trump in September. That memo similarly approved the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to an American investor group. CNBC previously reported that Oracle, Silverlake, and MGX would be the primary investors in the deal. Until now, ByteDance had not divulged details of such a deal, except to say that it would abide by U.S. law to ensure that TikTok remained available to U.S. users.

    The U.S. government has long sought to cleave TikTok’s U.S.-based business away from its Chinese parent company, espousing national security concerns as the rationale.

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  • How ByteDance Made China’s Most Popular AI Chatbot

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    When Chinese AI startup DeepSeek became a global sensation in January, it not only shocked Silicon Valley but also startled ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company. The Chinese tech giant had already launched Doubao, its own flagship AI assistant app with tens of millions of users. But when DeepSeek became the best-known Chinese AI company overnight, no one was talking about Doubao anymore.

    Now, ByteDance has gotten its revenge. By August, Doubao regained the throne as the most popular AI app in China with over 157 million monthly active users, according to QuestMobile, a Chinese data intelligence provider. DeepSeek, with 143 million monthly active users, slipped to second place. The same month, venture capital firm a16z also ranked Doubao as the fourth-most-popular generative AI app globally, just behind the likes of ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

    Doubao, which launched in 2023, was deliberately designed to be personable. Unlike most popular AI chatbots, Doubao’s app icon features a human-looking avatar—a female cartoon character with a short bob that greets people when they open the app for the first time. The name Doubao literally translates to “steamed bun with bean paste,” mimicking “the nickname a user would give to an intimate friend,” ByteDance vice president Alex Zhu said in a public speech in 2024.

    Compared to Western AI apps, “there’s a warmer, more welcoming feel,” says Dermot McGrath, a Shanghai-based investor and technologist. “ChatGPT, for example, feels like a tool you open to complete a task and then close again. Doubao has more features and a more colorful user interface that keeps you interested longer.”

    The Everything App

    Doubao offers users a little bit of everything—it’s like ChatGPT, Midjourney, Sora, Character.ai, TikTok, Perplexity, Copilot, and more in a single app. It can chat via text, audio, and video; it can generate images, spreadsheets, decks, podcasts, and five-second videos; it allows anyone to customize an AI agent for specific scenarios and host it on Doubao’s platform for others to use. One of the most important things about the app, however, is that it’s deeply integrated with Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, allowing it to both attract users from the video platform and send traffic back to it.

    Somehow, ByteDance’s ambitiously sprawling strategy for Doubao has turned out to be exactly what Chinese users wanted. A little over two years since its launch, Doubao has quietly become the AI app that Chinese people—particularly those who aren’t very AI savvy—are actually using. But it has almost no name recognition in the West.

    “It’s marketed at people who are not the most technologically informed, people who may prefer voice chat and video interaction over text,” says Irene Zhang, a researcher at ChinaTalk, a newsletter about Chinese tech. “Some of the earliest Doubao users I heard of were my friends’ grandmothers and aunties.”

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    Zeyi Yang

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  • New York City Sues Social Media Companies Over ‘Youth Mental Health Crisis’

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    Here’s a new element of the East Coast vs. West Coast beef: The City of New York is reaching across the country to sue tech giants headquartered in California over allegations that their platforms have created a youth mental health crisis. The city, along with its school districts and health department, alleges that “gross negligence” on the part of Meta, Alphabet, Snap, and ByteDance has gotten kids hooked on social media, which has created a “public nuisance” that is placing a strain on the city’s resources.

    In a 327-page complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the city alleges that tech companies have designed their platforms in a way that seeks to “maximize the number of children” using them, and have built “algorithms that wield user data as a weapon against children and fuel the addiction machine.” The city also alleges that these companies “know children and adolescents are in a developmental stage that leaves them particularly vulnerable to the addictive effects of these features,” but “target them anyway, in pursuit of additional profit.”

    The claims that social media is addictive to underage users aren’t necessarily new. New York state, in fact, is part of a coalition of states that have sued social media companies for allegedly exploiting young users. But the New York City suit does bring some unique and jurisdiction-specific information. It cites data from the New York City Police Department, for instance, that show at least 16 teens have died while “subway surfing”—riding outside of a moving train—a dangerous behavior which the lawsuit claims has been encouraged by social media trends. Two girls, ages 12 and 13, died earlier this month while subway surfing.

    It also cited survey data collected from New York high school students, which shows that 77.3% of the city’s teens spend three or more hours per day on screens, which it claims has contributed to lost sleep and, in turn, absences from school—corroborated by the city’s school districts, which provided data to show that 36.2% of all public school students are considered chronically absent, missing at least 10% of the school year.

    According to Reuters, this lawsuit from New York City is part of a larger effort by other governments to hold social media firms accountable. There are more than 2,050 similar lawsuits in litigation. The city withdrew a previous lawsuit, announced by Mayor Eric Adams in 2024, to join this wider effort in federal court. By doing so, New York City immediately becomes one of the largest plaintiffs, with a population of 8.48 million and nearly two million residents under the age of 18.

    “These lawsuits fundamentally misunderstand how YouTube works, and the allegations are simply not true. YouTube is a streaming service where people come to watch everything from live sports, to podcasts to their favorite creators, primarily on TV screens, not a social network where people go to catch up with friends,” José Castañeda, a spokesperson for Google, told Gizmodo. “We’ve also developed dedicated tools like Supervised Experiences for young people, guided by child safety experts, that give families control.”

    Gizmodo reached out to Meta, Snap, and ByteDance for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

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    AJ Dellinger

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  • Sam Altman’s OpenAI Is Officially the World’s Most Valuable Startup at $500B

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    A secondary share sale propelled OpenAI’s valuation, setting a new record for private companies. The Washington Post via Getty Images

    OpenAI has reached a new milestone: a $500 billion valuation that makes it the world’s most valuable private company, surpassing Elon Musk’s SpaceX and widening the gap with other major private companies like its direct competitor, Anthropic, and TikTok parent ByteDance.

    The staggering valuation follows a secondary shares sale, first reported by Bloomberg, that allowed current and former employees to sell stock to investors, including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, MGX and T. Rowe Price, The sale didn’t bring new funding to the company but boosted its valuation from $300 billion in March, when it raised $40 billion in a round led by SoftBank.

    OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit dedicated to advancing A.I. for humanity’s benefit, but later adopted a capped-profit structure. The company currently has about 700 million weekly users and $12 billion in annualized revenue. It has signed some of the largest cloud deals, including a $300 billion partnership with Oracle for computing power over the next five years.

     

    The company is also in the midst of a long-anticipated transition to a for-profit structure. Last month, it signed a non-binding deal with Microsoft, its largest shareholder, to convert its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation controlled by the remaining nonprofit.

    Elon Musk, who left OpenAI in 2018 and went on to launch his own startup, xAI, has since become one of the company’s fiercest critics. He has filed multiple lawsuits aimed at halting its restructuring and accused the company of straying from its founding mission in favor of profits. Most recently, he sued the company for allegedly hiring former xAI employees who he claims stole trade secrets.

    Secondary share sales gain steam

    Secondary share sales, an increasingly popular method among startups to retain and reward staff, have boosted the valuation of several already highly valued companies. SpaceX reached a $400 billion valuation in July after a round of secondary share sales; Stripe’s February tender offer valued it at $91.5 billion; and Databricks’ December secondary sale gave the company a $62 billion valuation.

    As OpenAI’s tools continue weaving into daily life, the company has had to reckon with the social consequences of its rapid ascent. Earlier this month, it rolled out parental controls for ChatGPT, giving parents options such as limiting their children’s exposure to sensitive content or disabling certain voice and image modes. The feature came after OpenAI was sued in August by the parents of a teenager who committed suicide after ChatGPT allegedly gave him self-harm advice.

    More recently, OpenAI sparked backlash with the launch of Sora, a short-form A.I. video app, drawing criticism that consumer-facing products conflict with its loftier goals of scientific advances and artificial general intelligence (AGI). Altman addressed the criticism on X yesterday (Oct. 1), writing: “It is also nice to show people cool new tech/products along the way, make them smile, and hopefully make some money given all that compute need.”

    He added that most of OpenAI’s resources remain focused on science and AGI research. “When we launched ChatGPT, there was a lot of ‘who needs this and where is AGI?’ Reality is nuanced when it comes to optimal trajectories for a company,” he wrote.

    Sam Altman’s OpenAI Is Officially the World’s Most Valuable Startup at $500B

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  • ‘If I Could Make It 100% MAGA, I Would’: Trump Gives Green Light to TikTok Deal

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    President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday that’s intended to give the green light for U.S. investors to take a large stake in TikTok. But details of the proposed deal still haven’t been revealed, and there are plenty of hoops to jump through before it’s finalized.

    “This is going to be American-operated all the way,” Trump said Thursday. “And great respect [sic] for President Xi, and I very much appreciate that he approved the deal. Because to get it done properly, we really needed the support of China and the approval of China.”

    Trump has claimed that China’s President, Xi Jinping, has approved the deal, but it still needs formal approval from China, according to the Washington Post. And the Wall Street Journal reports that the group of new investors who are supposed to take over TikTok has yet to be finalized, and legal details haven’t been ironed out.

    Who are these new investors? According to Trump on Thursday, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, and Rupert Murdoch are among the “four or five absolutely world-class investors” involved. Trump recently sued Murdoch for defamation over a Wall Street Journal article about a birthday book made for Jeffrey Epstein and signed by Trump in 2003.

    CNBC reported earlier Thursday that a new entity operated by Oracle, Silver Lake, and the Abu Dhabi-based MGX investment fund will control about 45% of TikTok. Thirty-five percent will be controlled by ByteDance investors and new holders, according to the business channel. And ByteDance will reportedly control 19.9%, the limit dictated by the law passed last year to force the Chinese company to divest or face a total ban in the U.S.

    Trump tried to ban TikTok during his first term in 2020 through an executive order, but that was stymied by the courts and ultimately dropped early in Joe Biden’s first term. But a bipartisan group of lawmakers revived the effort to ban TikTok on national security grounds in 2023, and that law was passed in 2024 and signed into law by Biden.

    President Trump pulled a complete 180 in March 2024 during the lead-up to the presidential election, insisting that he no longer wanted TikTok to be banned. And Trump has now delayed enforcing the law five times since he came into office in January. His repeated delays are almost certainly unlawful according to most experts, but Congress hasn’t acted.

    One area where Congress may act, according to the Washington Post, is by questioning whether the proposed deal actually follows the letter of the law. ByteDance investors will still hold a significant stake in the company, and ByteDance will apparently keep control of the TikTok algorithm in some way, though there are still questions about how all of that may shake out.

    A reporter asked Trump in the Oval Office whether he wanted to see the new TikTok algorithm suggest more MAGA-related content.

    “If I could, I’d make it 100% MAGA-related,” Trump said to laughter from his underlings. “It’s actually a good question, but I would… If I could make it 100% MAGA, I would. But it’s not going to work out that way, unfortunately.”

    But Trump then suggested other non-MAGA-aligned groups would still be allowed to exist on TikTok. “No, everyone’s going to be treated fairly. Every group, every philosophy, every policy will be treated very fairly,” said Trump.

    Trump may insist that everyone will get a fair shake on the new TikTok, but about 30 minutes later, in the same Oval Office presentation, Trump signed a presidential memo targeting left-wing and anti-fascist groups for prosecution.

    “These are anarchists and agitators, professional anarchists and agitators, and they get hired by wealthy people, some of whom I know, I guess… probably know,” Trump said. “You wouldn’t know at dinner with them. Everything’s nice, and then you find out that they funded millions of dollars to these lunatics.”

    FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and senior advisor Stephen Miller were all on hand to make threats against left-wing groups, claiming that they’re “domestic terrorists.”

    President Trump also claimed last week that TV stations that criticize him should get their broadcast licenses taken away.

    CBS cancelled Stephen Colbert’s show under pressure, and ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel last week before reinstating him on Tuesday. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr made mob-like threats against ABC, and it remains to be seen how many more critics the Trump regime can successfully silence. Trump has previously tweeted that Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers are “next.”

    The president doesn’t like even the mildest forms of criticism, and the U.S. government has no problem demanding that media platforms censor people who oppose Trump. So it will be interesting to see what happens to TikTok’s algorithm after any deal is completed. It’s hard to imagine a world where Trump allows anti-Trump content to thrive on social media.

    But first, the TikTok deal has to be finalized. And despite Trump’s repeated insistence that everything is done, it seems like there are quite a few more hurdles before this one crosses the finish line.

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    Matt Novak

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  • Trump Executive Order Will Hand TikTok Over to US Investors

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    On Thursday, US president Donald Trump signed an executive order to transfer ownership of TikTok’s US operation to a group of American investors, including Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison.

    “I had a very good talk with president Xi. We talked about TikTok. He gave us the go-ahead,” Trump said during a White House press conference. He conceded that he’d gotten a bit of resistance from the “Chinese side.” By Thursday afternoon, the Chinese government had not issued an announcement acknowledging the deal.

    Vice President JD Vance said the deal valued TikTok at around $14 billion. ByteDance was valued at $330 billion as of August. Both Trump and his treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, credited Vance as playing a pivotal role in brokering the agreement.

    Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, and Rupert Murdoch are among the “four or five” American investors who will take over TikTok’s US operations, according to Trump. “Oracle is playing a very big part,” he said at the press conference. Vance noted the full list of investors will be released in the “days to come.”

    Details of the deal are still unknown. “What this deal ensures is that the American entity and the American investors will actually control the algorithm,” Vance said during the briefing. “We don’t want this used as a propaganda tool by any foreign government.”

    It’s unclear if ByteDance would remain in any way responsible for the operation of TikTok in the US. Up to this point, TikTok has been betting on Project Texas, a system designed to separate the data access of US- and China-based employees, to soothe national security concerns. But a global platform like TikTok inevitably requires different departments and geographical branches to access data from each other, making a clean separation unlikely. For many in Congress and in Washington more broadly, any ByteDance involvement in the new US TikTok would violate the law. On the flip side, if licensing essentially amounts to buying a copy of the ByteDance source code, it’s hard not to see that as a violation of Chinese law.

    It’s also unclear whether US users will now be forced to migrate to a new app, and whether they’ll be served different content than TikTok users in the rest of the world.

    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that there would be no difference. But even if the pool of content being posted to the platform is the same, changes to the recommendation algorithm would inherently mean that users see different things. TikTok was one of the first social networks in which the content algorithm overwhelmingly decides a user’s experience, unlike previous platforms that prioritize personal connections and self-labeled interests. It means users have less control over what they see on their For You page.

    There are widespread concerns that the Trump administration is willing to weaponize its allies’ control of media and social media to censor content it doesn’t favor. Larry Ellison, the Oracle founder who will have a significant role in the new TikTok entity, has close ties to the Trump administration. CBS, which is now owned by his son David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance Corporation, recently canceled The Late Show, whose host, Stephen Colbert, is a frequent Trump critic.

    Asked by a reporter on Thursday if the deal would mean more MAGA content on TikTok, Trump responded, “If I could, I’d make the algorithm 100 percent MAGA related. But it’s not going to work out that way unfortunately. Everyone’s going to be treated fairly.”

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    Zeyi Yang

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