TikTok caught in US-China battle over its powerful algorithm

Chinese parent company ByteDance stuck between legal manoeuvres aimed at controlling video app’s future

- Hannah Murphy, Cristina Criddle and Ryan McMorrow

The United States and Chinese governments are battling for control over the algorithm that powers TikTok, with the short-form video app trapped in a geopolitical tug of war over its future.

ByteDance, the Beijing-based company that owns TikTok, has faced US demands that the app be sold to cut ties to its home country, while the Chinese government has taken legal measures to prevent any divestment without its consent.

The heart of the conflict is which country can lay claim to TikTok's powerful algorithm, according to multiple people familiar with continuing deliberations and international legal experts.

The Chinese government is likely to block ByteDance from selling TikTok's algorithm technology, according to experts and TikTok insiders. Beijing introduced a new export restriction to squash any deal without its approval when the Trump administration tried to ban the app in 2020.

TikTok's algorithm has been touted as one of the most advanced uses of AI in consumer technology. It is considered more effective than rivals such as Meta at presenting users with content they are likely to be interested in that does not necessarily come from friends' recommendations.

That has given the app an uncanny ability to serve up addictive lip-sync and dance videos that capture the attention of its one billion users worldwide.

But critics contend it could be manipulated to serve up propaganda or polarising material a claim denied by ByteDance.

"China won't allow TikTok's algorithm to be exported," said Mr Keith Krach, the US businessman and former politician who led the Trump administration's attempted crackdown on TikTok. "You can't split the baby in two." The predicament has created a high-stakes moment for TikTok's chief executive Chew Shou Zi, who is set to testify before the US Congress on Thursday.