Retraining TikTok US Algorithm Not Enough If App Retains Characteristics, Experts Say

TikTok is banned in China, where its parent company, ByteDance, runs the China-only Douyin video app instead.

A woman holds a phone displaying the TikTok app, in this file photo, on Aug. 11, 2024. Oleksii Pydsosonnii/The Epoch Times

When Trump administration officials announced that a TikTok U.S. deal was imminent, they stressed that the deal would bring the popular social media app’s algorithm completely under U.S. control.

“This is going to be American-operated all the way,” President Donald Trump said after signing the executive order to authorize a TikTok U.S. deal and give the parties 120 days to close it.