https://www.reuters.com/technology/bytedance-prefers-tiktok-shutdown-us-if-legal-options-fail-sources-say-2024-04-25/HONG KONG, April 25 (Reuters) - TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer shutting down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.The algorithms TikTok relies on for its operations are deemed core to ByteDance overall operations, which would make a sale of the app with algorithms highly unlikely, said the sources close to the parent.TikTok accounts for a small share of ByteDance's total revenues and daily active users, so the parent would rather have the app shut down in the U.S. in a worst case scenario than sell it to a potential American buyer, they said.A shut-down would have limited impact on ByteDance's business while the company would not have to give up its core algorithm, said the sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
It said late on Thursday in a statement posted on Toutiao, a media platform it owns, that it had no plan to sell TikTok, in response to an article by The Information saying ByteDance is exploring scenarios for selling TikTok's U.S. business without the algorithm that recommends videos to TikTok users.In response to Reuters request for comment, a TikTok spokeswoman referred to ByteDance's statement posted on Toutiao.TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew said on Wednesday the social media company expects to win a legal challenge to block legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden that he said would ban its popular short video app used by 170 million Americans.The bill, passed overwhelmingly but the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, is driven by widespread worries among U.S. lawmakers that China could access Americans' data or use the app for surveillance.Biden's signing sets a Jan. 19 deadline for a sale - one day before his term is poised to expire - but he could extend the deadline by three months if he determines privately-owned ByteDance is making progress.ByteDance does not publicly disclose its financial performance or the financial details of any of its units. The company continues to make most of its money in China, mainly from its other apps such as Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, separate sources have said.The U.S. accounted for about 25% of TikTok overall revenues last year, said a separate source with direct knowledge.ByteDance's 2023 revenues rose to nearly $120 billion in 2023 from $80 billion in 2022, said two of the four sources. TikTok's daily active users in the U.S. is also just about 5% of ByteDance's DAUs worldwide, said one of the sources.
ALGORITHMS NOT FOR SALETikTok shares the same core algorithms with ByteDance domestic apps like short video platform Douyin, three of the sources said. Its algorithms are considered better than ByteDance rivals such as Tencent and Xiaohongshu, said one of them.It would be impossible to divest TikTok with its algorithms as their intellectual property licence is registered under ByteDance in China and thus difficult to disentangle from the parent company, said the source.ByteDance also would not agree to sell one of its most valuable assets – its "secret source" - to rivals, said the four sources, referring to the TikTok algorithm.In 2020, the Trump administration sought to ban TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat but was blocked by the courts. The short-form video app has since faced partial and attempted bans in the United States and other countries.China indicated it would be likely to reject a forced divestment of the TikTok app during a U.S. congressional hearing in March last year.
>>1289936>ByteDance also would not agree to sell one of its most valuable assets – its "secret source" - to rivals, said the four sources, referring to the TikTok algorithm.This seems like a reasonable conclusion. I do think there's going to be a long legal battle over this before that decision is made, though.
>>1289938Everyone knows the algorithms in question are designed to show Americans the worst possible outrageous inflammatory clickbait trash. The implied threat that TikTok can be militarized by China whenever they need public opinion to turn in their favor is a bit ridiculous.
It will just be replaced by another similar app wtf are they thinking
>>1289983they think they control the internet and they're half-right
>>1289940Did you forget how stupid and gullible Americans are?
>>1289940It's a shame the same sort of ban can't be done for all social media in America.
>>1289995Not wrong, but lets not kid ourselves into thinking Zuckerberg's empire isn't most of the problem as far as corrupt algorithms go.
>>1289983Its not about the app, its about the Chinese Communist Party controlling borderline malware on millions of American's phones.
>>1290002They all need to be cracked down on.
>>1290210>borderline malwareOh know, they're stealing our data!5 seconds after the ban goes into effect they'll just start buying our data from US data brokers that get that shit from all the other social media sites doing this exact same shit.It's not like they're constantly recording us. That's Amazon.
Know what I'd like to see get banned next? Pisscord!
>>1290227>Oh this doesn't solve the problem completely and forever? Well I guess its just not worth doing!Why does it have to be "all or nothing" with you fags?
>>1290227Oh and I forgot about this:>US lawmakers unveil a plan to give all Americans a right to online privacy https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/tech/online-privacy-bill/index.htmltldr: American GDPR
>>1289917If the Chinese government won’t let ByteDance relinquish TikTok’s algorithm, it could block the sale outright. Alternatively, it may allow TikTok to be sold without the lucrative algorithm that forms the basis for its popularity. A US ban, or a less powerful version of TikTok, would be a windfall for YouTube, Google, Instagram and other TikTok competitors, as many of its customers may jump ship Facebook, Google, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Yahoo, Slack, YouTube,Wikipedia, Twitch, Zoom, Reddit , etc, are banned in ChyyNa — because they refuse to follow the Chinese government’s rules on data collection and the type of content shared. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_websites_blocked_in_mainland_China
>>1289983Most people on tiktok (18-25) don't want to switch to IG or any other social media because they know those companies were lobbying to get rid of it.Also, having to rebuild your following somewhere else would suck
>>1289990Americans are pissed off at their government for reasons like>inflation>lack of health care>out of control DoD budgets>Israel>unaffordable housingAnd a litany of other reasons. China ain't the ones doing that shit
>>1290231Because this shit is a waste of time and effort and they'll act like they saved the world by doing this and justify themselves into thinking they don't have to do anything else now. This is the end of things (for them anyways)
>>1290273You'd be right if it weren't for this>>1290233
>>1289917Yup. Turns out it was a CCP surveillance arm after all. Thanks for confirming it, Bytedance
>>1289917Biden just lost the zoomer vote. Rip sleepy
>>1290546It's weird how they haven't offered a single shred of evidence for that, but will insist aliens are real. Like, how fucking dumb are they hoping for us to be?
>>1290598>a Chinese company controlled by the CCP is forced by the CCP to give up the data it collects to the CCP>SOURCE????Chinese shills in overdrive today
>>1290620We know Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Amazon are selling our data to foreign adversaries. Tiktok knows I like watching world star confrontations. Congress is praying this tiktok ban will be seen as something they can use to prove this hasn't been their most unproductive 2 years in history.
>>1289940this is all algorithms, basically ever
>>1290632>More whatabouts
>>1290737So you don't have any good reasons it should be banned, you just want it gone and don't find the government passing overreaching and authoritarian bills as alarming as you should.AIPAC and several seneators have outright admitted why they want it gone.
>>1289917bytedances legal HQ is in the cayman islands, this reason alone makes me loathe them
>>1290790Found the non-American
>>1290947no dood u rong I American yo u jus a hater dood
>>1290980>slang is 25 years out of dateHmmmm
