Hot Take, TikTok U.S. will be almost unusable soon.

TikTok will not fully retain its original algorithm under the new US deal signed on December 18, 2025.

ByteDance made more or less the best app algo in the world (better than YouTube). This new group cannot match it and so I don’t think they will be able to retain users.

The agreement creates a new joint venture (TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC), majority-controlled by US and global investors (including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX holding significant stakes, with ByteDance retaining only 19.9%).

This joint venture will take over US operations, including data protection, content moderation, and algorithm security. Oracle having a serious stake in this just makes matters worse. Too much inside favoritism in the Trump Administration.

Some analysts say this will mean TikTok is locked in as a long-term customer on Oracle’s cloud. But realistically TikTok’s usage could implode. It won’t be the same TikTok at all.