TikTok has signed a deal to spin off its U.S. business, bringing to a close a lengthy debate on the popular social media app. Nearly 50 percent of the assets will be held by three American companies.
Sarah Kreps, professor of government and law, is director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University. Kreps says it remains unclear how effectively the new framework will address the initial national security threat concerns.
Kreps says: “The newly announced framework for TikTok’s U.S. operations caps a long process of extensions and shifting priorities. What began as an urgent national security threat has resulted in a deal that allows TikTok to continue operating in the United States under modified ownership and oversight.
“For users, short-term changes are likely to be limited. The interface and scrolling experience will probably feel familiar. The central question is the recommendation algorithm – the system that rapidly learns what keeps users engaged. If that engine remains largely intact, the experience will too.
“One uncertainty that could indirectly shape the user experience is China’s role in approving the deal. Beijing’s assent is widely seen as necessary to close it. In 2020, China amended its export-control rules to cover technologies such as advanced recommendation algorithms, giving the government formal authority to approve or block arrangements that license TikTok’s core engine. How much of that technology ultimately transfers could influence how the platform behaves over time, even if the app looks largely the same on the surface.
“Longer term, user experience will depend on how aggressively regulators enforce transparency, data separation, and algorithmic oversight – though there is little evidence these issues remain at the top of the policy agenda.
“The deeper issue is not whether TikTok will feel different to users, but whether the conditions that once justified extraordinary concern have been materially altered or just managed. The original risks were always about data access, influence, and control over a powerful recommendation system. While the new framework may limit direct access to U.S. user data and introduce additional oversight, it remains unclear how effectively it constrains subtler forms of influence or ensures sustained accountability.”
