Uncertainty Surrounds Tik Tok Sale

Following concerns in the US about the security of users’ data on Tik Tok, the US government ordered that the widely popular social media platform cut its ties with China

Following concerns in the US about the security of users’ data on Tik Tok, the US government ordered that the widely popular social media platform cut its ties with China. This has resulted in a $14billion deal which means Tik Tok is now controlled by an investment group comprising of Oracle (founded by Larry Ellison, who is backing his son’s company, Paramount to acquire Warner Bros Discovery), Silver Lake, Emerati investment firm MGX and Michael Dell, owner of Dell Technologies. This deal was finalised last month following a 6-year legal battle between the US government and Tik Tok. Things got so heated in January 2025 that Tik Tok was shut down for 14 hours.

Post deal, several issues remain that would appear unresolved. The source code is still owned by the Chinese, who are leasing it back to the US. The US is meanwhile retraining the algorithm, aiming to reassure users that their data will remain secure.

Last week Tik Tok users experienced more issues; the ‘For You’ page showed old and irrelevant details, comments were not properly loaded, and new videos weren’t displaying. None of which inspires much confidence!

This has led to a great deal of uncertainty for the platform with over 200million users in the US alone. It’s been suggested that there could be an exodos away from Tik Tok, with people migrating to Instagram, just what we saw happen to X.

Related content

• MEDIA
• ARTICLES