Tiktok is preparing to launch an autonomous application for American users who should work on an algorithm and a data system separate from its global application, laying the foundations for a potential sale orchestrated by US President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the problem.
In recent months, Tiktok employees have worked in tight deadlines to build a new specific version in the United States of Tiktok by transferring and duplicating the basis of application code – including AI models, algorithms, functionalities and user data – of the global platform, current employees of the company have declared ReutersWho asked for anonymity while discussing private issues.
This decision could open the door to the resolution of the years of debate on the question of whether the company would share what is considered to be the jewel of the crown of the short sharing platform belonging to Bytedance-the recommendation algorithm supplying the platform belonging to the Chinese-which was at the center of American-Chinese technology technology.
Bytedance and Tiktok refused to comment.
The initiative, known internally under the name of “M2”, has a deadline in September and could represent the greatest technical rupture between the US operations in Tiktok and its international affairs. The change should have an impact on how 170 million American users have access to global content and how non-American creators earn money on the platform.
The new American application is designed to operate independently, similar to Douyin – the Tiktok version available exclusively in continental China. Users from outside the United States will not find the American version in its application store, sources said.
The technical details of the next American application are reported here for the first time. The information first reported on the planned launch of the US Tiktok application.
Although the current content should migrate into the new application, it is not clear to what extent the new content of the Global Tiktok applications will be integrated into the American version. The new application should only use American user data to train its recommendation algorithms, by distanting it more from Tiktok global systems, added sources. Therefore, most users will be recommended for the content generated in the United States.
Separation anxiety
The thrust to separate Tiktok’s American application from its global platform has been underway for months, while Bytedance managers have prepared various plans to prevent a prohibition on application in the United States, a decision required by recently adopted legislation on data security problems.
The future of the application used by almost half of all Americans has been in the air from a 2024 law, adopted with crushing bipartisan support, required by bydance to give in Tiktok before January 19.
Washington officials said that Tiktok’s property by Bytedance was becoming the Chinese government again, and that Beijing could use the application to carry out influence operations against the United States and collect data from the Americans.
After the first deadline and a brief moment of “dark” in January, Tiktok began to move the data of non-American user user from the American data centers managed by Oracle, ensuring that only US user data remained on servers in the United States, paving the way for the separation of American and international companies, according to sources.
The company has also been working to separate the code base for its basic algorithm since last year, a move reported for the first time by Reuters and denied by the company at the time.
Once the split is completed, the basic technology and continuous development will be managed separately from the world team of Tiktok, although some Bytedance employees can continue to support Tiktok out of way, one of the sources added.
This has raised internal concerns as to whether algorithm for the United States will remain as effective in the long term as it is today, when Tiktok can take advantage of the global engineering talents in Bytedance and the expertise of the products.
The project comes as Bytedance faces a continuous political pressure in Washington to yield its American activities. An agreement had been in progress this spring to shoot Tiktok American operations in a new company based in the United States, but it was suspended after China indicated that it would not approve of it following Trump’s steep prices on Chinese products.
If a sale is finalized, the new application should belong to a joint venture formed by a consortium of American investors and Bytedance, which will maintain a minority participation.
The consortium, which has become the favorite, includes the current shareholders of Bytedance 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.
However, it is not clear if Beijing has approved the algorithm copy plan or sell the US Tiktok operations.
During previous negotiations, the Chinese authorities expressed a strong reluctance to allow the export of the Tiktok recommendation algorithm, which is largely considered as a precious asset of Bytedance and a key engine of its global popularity.
In 2020, when the Trump administration first pushed a sale of the American company in Tiktok, China updated its export control rules to cover technologies such as recommendation algorithms, actually giving the government to say on any transfer.
At the time, the Tiktok management team rejected the plan to rupture its American operations as a prejudice to users and to the global network, according to people knowing the decision.
Now, talks about Tiktok’s fate are also part of President Trump’s wider trade negotiations with China on prices, sources said.
Trump said last week that he would resume discussions with China from a tiktok agreement. Although he said he was “not confident” about Beijing’s approval, Trump added: “I think the agreement is good for China and it’s good for us”.
