There Might Be A New TikTok Soon

It looks like one of my yearly predictions might not come true. Recently it’s been reported that Chinese holding company ByteDance is finally selling TikTok to a consortium of U.S. investors. The announcement sounds good on the surface, but as you dig into the details it looks like it will less ideal for everyone, including TikTok users.

The consortium consists of U.S. cloud technology company Oracle, U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi state-owned MGX Investments. ByteDance will still keep 20% of the company.

Does This Make Sense?

Now think about this for a second. The main reason for the deal is for national security reasons. The Chinese government (which controls ByteDance) was reportedly extracting critical demographic and private information from millions of users in the U.S., which possibly could be used for nefarious actions in the future.

But yet they still get to keep a major part of the company in this deal.

How does this make sense?

So we have the required U.S. ownership, except for the Chinese government and the country of Abu Dhabi?

Yeah, I don’t get it either.

Then you have the big tech and private equity investments from Oracle and Silver Lake.

Any time private equity gets involved it’s for one reason only – to shake as much money out of the investment as possible to enrich the investors at all costs. The end users are never considered. That’s just how private equity works. Gotta get that $14 billion back (the reported payment to ByteDance) and more.

Big tech is no different. Shareholder value trumps everything else, including the end user.

At least when the Chinese were extracting data from U.S. users, they were keeping them happy. I’m not counting that that continuing if this deal is finalized. Which brings us to. . .

TikTok Users Might Not Like This

This deal is supposed to close on January 22nd, and as soon as that happens, it’s been reported that the TikTok app will be discontinued in the U.S. and users will need to transition to a new platform.

Yeah, that sounds like a way to keep your customers happy, especially advertisers on TikTok Shop.

But it gets better.

The one thing that’s never talked about in any reports is the secret sauce of TikTok – it’s algorithm.

Without the algorithm, TikTok dies, because what keeps users stuck to their screens is the constant recommendations based on their use. Yes, every platform has some form of this, but TikTok’s has been particularly effective, which is why it may be the most used social platform of our time.

So you have:

• Users that have to migrate to a new platform, with no information whether their previous info will be kept intact.

• The possibility that a new recommendation engine will have replaced the old very effective one, so it will work differently.

• New owners who want to squeeze every dime out of their investment, which is never good for end users.

• The same national security issues that caused this divestment in the first place.

Tell me again how this is a good idea?

Another Possibility

I wouldn’t be shocked if this deal doesn’t happen.

All the details are murky, with mostly insider reports and no official releases from any of the principles involved. It’s especially curious that everything we hear is coming from the U.S. side, with not a peep from the Chinese.

The deal framework was supposedly seen by Axios, but we haven’t heard any details from anyone else.

It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if this deal didn’t happen on the 22nd, or it gets mysteriously delayed, just like it has during all of 2025.

Then what happens? Does Congress step in and say that it’s finally time to finally follow its decree and close TikTok in the U.S. for good?

Either way, I recommend that you savor your TikTok viewing now, because it’s going to change in some way soon.

Maybe my prediction will come true after all.