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It is looking increasingly likely that any sale of TikTok will mean United States (US) users have to download a new app.
After repeatedly delaying enforcement of a law that requires TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell it or face a ban in the United States, President Donald Trump now says he has a buyer for the app, according to a report by CNN.
Meanwhile, TikTok is reportedly building a new version of the app just for the United States that could launch as soon as September 5, according to The Information.
News of a possible new app isn’t entirely surprising. First, there’s the matter of TikTok’s “secret sauce” — that is, the algorithm that powers the mega popular “For You” page.
The Chinese government has repeatedly said it would block any transfer of the app’s algorithm to a new owner, meaning any new, separate American TikTok would need its own algorithm, possibly built from the ground up.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment, and CNN could not immediately confirm the accuracy of the report.
But it’s yet another reminder that any deal could have major implications for TikTok’s 170 million American users — potentially changing key aspects of the platform, like what they see and who they can interact with.
The Information reported, citing two unnamed people familiar with the matter, that the existing TikTok app will be removed from US app stores on the same day the new US app launches, although Americans may be able to continue using the current app until March of next year.
Still, the report suggests that TikTok’s position on building out a separate US app has shifted since January, when a lawyer representing the company told the Supreme Court that it would take “many years” to create a similar version of the app for American users.
He also said at the time that it would be “a fundamentally different platform with different content.”
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