As creators, marketers, and users await details of a TikTok deal hinted by the Trump administration, our analyst Jasmine Enberg says the greatest impact could depend on how it handles the platform’s powerful and unique algorithm.

“We know that young people in particular use it really as the center of the internet,” she said to BBC News on Monday. “It's where they go to be entertained, it's where they go to find out about the news, where they shop and where they buy and communicate with each other.”

The deal could result in China licensing the algorithm to the US, she said. In a seeming reversal from the Chinese government and ByteDance, reports emerged Tuesday that could be the case.

Licensing the algorithm could potentially be less disruptive to users than a new US-only algorithm.

“It’s theoretical, but if the US were to have a separate algorithm that was trained only on US data, US users could be cut off from content from the TikTok users in the rest of the world, and that could impact reach, and it could impact usage, because the US only accounts for about 10% of TikTok's global users,” Enberg said on Monday.

TikTok previously refuted a Reuters report that said it was building a standalone US app with a separate algorithm.

Why the algorithm matters

TikTok’s algorithm prioritizes discovery and virality over connecting with friends and followers as other traditional social networks do. Its “For You” page analyzes user watch time, replays, pauses, likes, shares, and other behavioral patterns to predict engagement with startling accuracy.

This has given regular people a shot at virality. A creator with few followers can reach millions overnight if the content generates the right signals. While Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts have attempted to copy this model, TikTok’s algorithm has made it incredibly sticky with users.

Users’ affinity to the algorithm has also made TikTok a top destination for search. Among social platforms, Gen Z is most likely to use YouTube (59.4%) and TikTok (58.8%), per a March EMARKETER survey.

President Donald Trump has postponed the US ban of TikTok several times in order to negotiate terms to preserve the app in the US.

• An outright ban would risk 4.7 million American jobs depending on the platform, including 3.1 million creators and account managers plus 1.6 million in adjacent roles, according to data from Oxford Economics.
• Some 7.5 million US businesses operate on TikTok, collectively employing 28 million workers, with 74% reporting increased sales, expansion, and hiring directly from the platform.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said terms of the deal could be locked down when Trump speaks with Chinese president Xi Jinping on Friday.