U.S. investors, Trump close in on TikTok deal with China • Hacker News Board

Re: U.S. investors, Trump close in on TikTok deal with China

#291

Post by jfengel » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 7:44 PM UTC

gpt5 wrote: post #205

Key details: 1. New, US-specific TikTok App, separate from the main TikTok app in content and users. 2. 80% owned by a U.S. investor consortium led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz, 20% by Bytedance. 3. Board will include one U.S. government–appointed director. 4. All U.S. user data would sit on Oracle infrastructure in the US. 5. Algorithm will be initially licensed, but has to be reengineered to comp…

Board will include one U.S. government–appointed director.

Why?

The nominal reason for all this is that we didn't want a Chinese company controlling an important social media outlet. I don't love that reasoning, but fine, whatever.

So they're forcibly selling it to an American company. Which should solve the problem, right?

Are we going to be putting government-appointed directors on all social media companies? Or just the one that used-to-be-Chinese?

Is there something so overwhelmingly devious about the TikTok format in particular that the government has to supervise it?

Re: U.S. investors, Trump close in on TikTok deal with China

#292

Post by Zigurd » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 7:49 PM UTC

palmotea wrote: post #130

estearum wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh, quality of life has gone to the moon in China in living memory. Not nearly as much a positive delta here in the US.

> Eh, quality of life has gone to the moon in China in living memory. Not nearly as much a positive delta here in the US. The Chinese rural population still isn't eligible for local equivalent of social security in their old age (that's only for city folks), and IIRC there was a huge unwillingness to provide financial assistance to individuals during COVID.

A few hundred million of that rural population have become city folk.

Re: U.S. investors, Trump close in on TikTok deal with China

#293

Post by cjbgkagh » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 7:50 PM UTC

reaperducer wrote: post #182

greekrich92 wrote: post #31

>Current users of the app will be asked to shift to a new app So it's just going to fade into obscurity then huh

So it's just going to fade into obscurity then huh We won't be so lucky.

What's to stop ByteDance from waiting a while and making a new TikTok app under a different name? The network effect moats do not seem insurmountable. I'm sure once the US starts meddling with the algorithm people will start looking for alternatives.

Re: U.S. investors, Trump close in on TikTok deal with China

#294

Post by yibg » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 7:52 PM UTC

jfengel wrote: post #291

gpt5 wrote: post #205

Key details: 1. New, US-specific TikTok App, separate from the main TikTok app in content and users. 2. 80% owned by a U.S. investor consortium led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz, 20% by Bytedance. 3. Board will include one U.S. government–appointed director. 4. All U.S. user data would sit on Oracle infrastructure in the US. 5. Algorithm will be initially licensed, but has to be reengineered to comp…

Board will include one U.S. government–appointed director. Why? The nominal reason for all this is that we didn't want a Chinese company controlling an important social media outlet. I don't love that reasoning, but fine, whatever. So they're forcibly selling it to an American company. Which should solve the problem, right? Are we going to be putting government-appointed directors on all social media companies? Or ju…

Remember though, it's only bad when the other guy does it. We don't want Chinese government involvement in TikTok, but we do want US government involvement. /s

Re: U.S. investors, Trump close in on TikTok deal with China

#295

Post by Zigurd » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 7:53 PM UTC

wnevets wrote: post #258

Between this and the US government taking ownership in Intel the "small government is good" and "socialism is bad" crowd have been very very quiet.

But its different. It's national soc... Wait...

Re: U.S. investors, Trump close in on TikTok deal with China

#296

Post by yibg » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 7:56 PM UTC

bootsmann wrote: post #175

g8oz wrote: post #80

TikTok dealt a serious blow to the Western consensus manufacturing apparatus. We saw that with Gaza especially. This deal is a step towards taking back control.

Taking back control by _checks notes_ handing the Chinese propaganda tool to supporters of the current administration?

Yes exactly. The US government likes propaganda. They just don't like it when other countries do it.

Re: U.S. investors, Trump close in on TikTok deal with China

#297

Post by f33d5173 » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 7:56 PM UTC

ulfw wrote: post #42

Why would any company want to operate in America, sell to Americans or onboard American users anymore? If you're not successful you just wasted a ton of time and money. If you are successful the newUSA will force you to divest what you've build against your will. Doesn't sound like a country worth investing in anymore.

> If you are successful the newUSA will force you to divest what you've build against your will.

You still make money in that case. It isn't a bad deal for the chinese. The americans who now have yet another censored app controlled by the american government are the only losers here.

Re: U.S. investors, Trump close in on TikTok deal with China

#298

Post by doctoboggan » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 7:58 PM UTC

gpt5 wrote: post #205

Key details: 1. New, US-specific TikTok App, separate from the main TikTok app in content and users. 2. 80% owned by a U.S. investor consortium led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz, 20% by Bytedance. 3. Board will include one U.S. government–appointed director. 4. All U.S. user data would sit on Oracle infrastructure in the US. 5. Algorithm will be initially licensed, but has to be reengineered to comp…

> 1. New, US-specific TikTok App, separate from the main TikTok app in content and users.

IMO this significantly impacts the value I would get from TikTok, as much of the content I consume on the app is from outside the US

I guess they are hoping the US market will be big enough so self sustain and even entice some foreigners to join the US only app?

Re: U.S. investors, Trump close in on TikTok deal with China

#299

Post by tempodox » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 8:00 PM UTC

xboxnolifes wrote: post #141

piva00 wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't expect to see the USA employing press censors in my lifetime but here we are. In Brazil during the dictatorship it was common for newspapers to print cooking recipes in place of censored articles, now I'm waiting to see if media in the USA has the balls to play the malicious compliance game... I guess I won't see it since money is basically God in America.

One could argue they're not the same, but there has been TV broadcast censors for decades in the US. They were still least following somewhat defined laws though.

> They were still least following somewhat defined laws though.

I expect them to continue to do so, except that uncle Donald is the law now.

Re: U.S. investors, Trump close in on TikTok deal with China

#300

Post by lenerdenator » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 8:01 PM UTC

I'm still trying to figure out if putting off the shutdown until they had a deal was even legal.

The Constitution has the worth of toilet paper if the executive can just keep saying "I don't want to enforce this law because my buddy here has a financial interest in that not happening as its supposed to", which is exactly what is happening given how close Larry and Trump are.