TikTok Gets Another Extension Because Nobody Wants to Actually Ban It

Probably not immediately, but yeah, expect shit to break. Account migrations always have edge cases. Some of your saved videos might disappear, follower counts could glitch, and your settings will probably reset at least twice. Back up anything important now.

It's complicated as hell. Americans own 80%, China owns 19.9%

• that 0.1% difference is pure legal theater to avoid more regulations. But Byte

Dance still controls the algorithm, which is like saying you own a car but someone else keeps the engine and decides where you can drive.

Eventually, yes. They're "leasing" the algorithm instead of owning it, which is tech industry speak for "we have no fucking idea how to rebuild this thing." When they inevitably try to create their own recommendation engine, your feed will turn into the garbage YouTube serves when their algorithm breaks.

Absolutely. This is just a framework

• basically a fancy word for "we'll figure it out later." Congress can pass new laws, CFIUS can reject the whole thing, or regulators can decide the data flows still look sketchy. Don't bet your business on this lasting.

Define "safer." Your data sits on US servers now, but the algorithm that processes it is still Chinese-controlled. It's like moving your diary to a safe but giving your ex the combination. Data flows are data flows

• geography doesn't magically make them secure.

Oh, absolutely. Instead of one consistent moderation system, you'll get a Frankenstein hybrid of US censorship rules and Chinese algorithm training data. Prepare for random content takedowns that make no sense and appeal processes that take forever.

Pretty fucked. The revenue sharing between TikTok America and ByteDance is going to eat into creator payments. Plus, when they rebuild the algorithm, view counts will crater for months while the system learns what people actually want to watch.

Are you kidding? This is the fourth "final" TikTok deal in two years. Congress hates it, China hates it, and the ownership structure is held together with legal duct tape. Give it six months before the next crisis.

Because the algorithm IS Byte

Dance. Without TikTok's recommendation engine, they're just another social media company burning investor money. Selling it completely would be like Coca-Cola selling their recipe

• business suicide.

Nothing changes, which is hilarious. So Americans get this weird hybrid version while everyone else keeps using the "dangerous" Chinese-controlled app. Makes you wonder how serious the security concerns actually were.

CFIUS review takes 3-6 months if they're being nice. Add congressional hearings, national security reviews, and the inevitable lawsuits, and you're looking at a year minimum. Assuming it survives that long, which it probably won't.

High. Previous TikTok deals have a 100% failure rate. This one has more moving parts, more regulatory hurdles, and more people who hate it. I'd bet money this doesn't make it to 2026.

Use it while it works, but don't build your business around it. If you're a creator, diversify to YouTube, Instagram, whatever. Don't bet your livelihood on this regulatory house of cards staying upright.

Worse, definitely. When they try to rebuild the recommendation system without full access to ByteDance's training data, the algorithm will turn to shit. Remember when Instagram tried to copy TikTok's algorithm? Same energy, worse execution.

Mostly, yeah. Trump needed to look tough on China without actually banning the app that 170 million Americans use daily. So we get this elaborate compromise that satisfies nobody and probably won't work long-term. Classic Washington problem-solving.