TikTok would split its source code to create an American-only algorithm

A report of Reuters says work has been underway since last year to create a version of TikTok’s recommendation algorithm that works independently of Douyin, the Chinese version of the app operated by its parent company ByteDance. Unnamed sources said the project could take more than a year to complete as part of a plan to show lawmakers that the U.S. company is independent of its owner in Beijing.

The report said executives talked about the project in all-hands meetings and on the company’s internal messaging system, Lark. The sources also said the source code split would cut TikTok off from its parent company’s “massive technical development power.”

TikTok responded by tweeting: “The Reuters article published today is misleading and factually inaccurate. »

In emails to The edgeTikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes said: “While we have continued to work in good faith to further safeguard the authenticity of the TikTok experience, it is simply false to suggest that this work would facilitate divestiture or that divestment is even a possibility,” and when asked if the code is divvied up, he said that was “100% false.”

TikTok has previously tried to convince lawmakers of U.S. independence, with the “Project Texas” data silo it described as “an unprecedented initiative intended to make every American on TikTok feel safe.” security, with the assurance that its data is secure and that the platform is free.” from external influence. » However, Alex Heath visited a Transparency and Accountability Center last year and, amid the transparency theater of the project, found a company that “seems to have realized that it will not save itself from a US ban on technical merits.

TikTok is already suing the U.S. government over the law that gives its parent company until January 19, 2025, to hand over control of the app to someone else or face a ban. According to Reuters anonymous sources, there are no plans to separate the companies; however, “once the code is split, it could lay the groundwork for a divestiture of U.S. assets.”