TikTik algorithm to be retrained for US audience in new deal

In a landmark deal to secure its US future, TikTok’s powerful recommendation algorithm will be licensed to a new American-led joint venture and “retrained from the ground up” using only US user data.

The agreement aims to address long-standing national security concerns that the app could be used by Beijing to influence content and access user data.

A senior White House official confirmed that under the deal, which President Donald Trump is expected to formalize with an executive order, a US consortium will take over TikTok’s American operations.

Tech giant Oracle, which already stores US user data under an existing arrangement called “Project Texas,” will play a central role. The company will audit and inspect the algorithm’s source code and be tasked with rebuilding it for US users.

The move is designed to ensure that the app’s content is “free from improper manipulation or surveillance.” However, while the deal is a major step toward resolving the dispute, it raises questions about the future user experience.

Analyst Jasmine Enberg of eMarketer warned that material changes to the algorithm could degrade the app’s value for users and creators. She noted that cutting US users off from global content could “degrade the user experience.”

President Trump’s executive order will also outline a 120-day pause to the ban enforcement deadline, allowing time for the deal to close and the new ownership structure to be put in place.

The new joint venture, which will be seeking “patriotic investors,” is expected to be worth billions of dollars and will have a board dominated by American directors.