ByteDance expected to launch American version of TikTok app in September

[DragonSlayer101]

In a nutshell: TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is reportedly developing a US-specific version of the app scheduled for release on September 5. Dubbed "M2," the new version will be owned by American investors, and all US-based users will be required to update in order to continue using TikTok.

According to The Information, the existing app – referred to internally as "M" – will be removed from US app stores once the new version is rolled out. The current app will reportedly continue to function for several months after the debut of the new version but will cease working in the US after March 2026. At that point, all users will be required to upgrade to the new app or face a complete blackout.

The new version is being developed exclusively for the US market and will only be available through American app stores. The rest of the world will continue using the current app, which will remain under Chinese control.

The Trump administration is reportedly working with several prominent US companies and venture capitalists, including Oracle, to acquire a majority stake in TikTok's US operations. ByteDance is still expected to retain a minority stake in the new entity while complying with the terms of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

Following persistent controversy over TikTok's Chinese ownership, then-President Joe Biden signed legislation in April 2024 requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok's US operations to an American owner or face a nationwide ban. The company appealed the mandate last December, but a federal court unanimously upheld the law, rejecting claims that it violated the First Amendment.

The ban was originally set to take effect on January 15 of this year, but the Trump administration issued an executive order delaying enforcement for 75 days. Trump later extended the deadline two more times, giving ByteDance until mid-September to comply with the law.

Trump previously stated that a group of "very wealthy people" had expressed interest in acquiring TikTok, though he declined to name them. He also noted that the deal would likely require approval from the Chinese government, given ByteDance's origins, but expressed doubt over whether President Xi Jinping would approve the sale.

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ByteDance expected to launch American version of TikTok app in September

 

[fraggleki]

I feel this may be even worse than China having our data. If the Trump administrator/government have any control over TikTok it will be used to control what content is shown on the app. This could allow the US government to use it as a propaganda tool...... I'm very interested to know who will be the majority owner here.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

I feel this may be even worse than China having our data. If the Trump administrator/government have any control over TikTok it will be used to control what content is shown on the app. This could allow the US government to use it as a propaganda tool...... I'm very interested to know who will be the majority owner here.

- Although its been reported on as such, its never been about data. It's about the ability to influence the minds and viewpoints of citizens through "the algorithm".

The US Government wants to make sure that Americans are fed state mandated and approved propaganda and not get competing narratives from elsewhere. American companies paid good money for that brainspace.

This is not in defense of Tiktok, I shed no tears for China or the CCP getting kicked out of American markets, but the whole "data privacy" thing was always a farce. We should be just as worried if not more so of home grown data collection and propaganda, they have an ability to affect our day to day lives in a way China and the CCP never will.

 

[Northy]

The US Government wants to make sure that Americans are fed state mandated and approved propaganda and not get competing narratives from elsewhere. American companies paid good money for that brainspace.

Chinese and Middle Eastern propaganda farms work tirelessly to destabilize US society, US capitalists do not have that agenda. Quite the opposite is important to them.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Chinese and Middle Eastern propaganda farms work tirelessly to destabilize US society, US capitalists do not have that agenda. Quite the opposite is important to them.

-US capitalists want to return to a "roaring 20's" era of robber Barron's and leise-faire capitalism. the last

The New Deal and the post war new world order which lifted billions out of poverty, entrenched a 80 year pax americana, and saw some of the most astounding technological achievements in human history... isn't really cutting it for the bottom line and needs to be undone so monopolists can firmly retrench themselves at the top.

If you think you, me, and everyone we know has not been the subject of an intense decades long propaganda campaign to see enemies outside but not within... Then I dunno what to tell you brother.

 

[Northy]

If you think you, me, and everyone we know has not been the subject of an intense decades long propaganda campaign to see enemies outside but not within... Then I dunno what to tell you brother.

That's a bit of a leap, maybe we should just start pointing the ignorance stick at every random stranger.

Still, the objectives between these two propaganda engine types are very different.