When a possible Tiktok ban on users in the US was still on the table early this year, the reaction of many influenchers and ticks was extremely emotional: tearful farewell videos, nostalgic retreats and confessions for Chinese.

The popular application, however, fell “just” for 12 hours in the US. This time the climate seems to be different, although the deadline for Tiktok’s parent company is approaching dangerously: ByTedance has a deadline by September 17 to stop or sell the video application, according to the US government’s requirement. But now there is a solution – literally the last minute.

Will there be an agreement on Tiktok?

US President Donald Trump told the Truth Social platform on Monday that there was a “agreement”, while also announcing a telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. He did not name Tiktok, but he explained that the deal is “a particular company that young people in our country want to be saved”. Users will be “very happy” for the deal, Trump also said.

This seems to be the case for him, of course. Trump’s Tiktok account – despite his criticism of the platform manager – already has over 15.2 million followers. He also helped him in his election campaign in 2024 to win new voters.

What are the categories?

Tiktok belongs to the Chinese Technology Club byTedance and has long been targeted by the US. A US law since President Joe Biden’s time now requires Tiktok to sell the platform to the US, otherwise it may disappear from the App Stores. After many protests, Donald Trump has set the deadline, with the latter expiring tomorrow, Wednesday.

The US has long suspected ByTedance for transferring users’ sensitive data to China. In addition, it is believed that China could propagate ideas as well as fake news through the algorithm to users. Thus the youthful audience of the application could be at the center of a misinformation campaign. The company rejects the categories.

What about the categories?

There are no strong evidence, the algorithm as in other platforms remains secret. But there is serious evidence that Tiktok is selectively promoting content and censors – at least when it comes to issues that cause discontent in China.

In addition, it is accused of hiding or promoting specific content, a tactic also known as shadowbanning or hyping. A survey by the International Human Rights Organization Global Witness has shown that in Tiktok and X mainly “far -right” contents were displayed. The results were quite clearly in Tiktok.

“My suspicion is that this is a form of unintentional side effects of algorithms aimed at increasing clicks,” said Helen Jansson of Global Witness. Simply put: algorithms are based on emotional and simplistic messages. Something that suits the far -right populists.

What data does Tiktok collect from its users?

Tiktok, according to the Privacy Policy referred to on its website, collects a huge volume of data from its users: age, name, place of residence, email addresses, contacts, comments, photos, videos, recordings, livestreams, comments, hashtags, feedback and reviews as well as the respectively.

ByTedance explained that US data is stored exclusively in the US and do not arrive in China. If this really does, it cannot be controlled with certainty. In the EU, the group now admitted that it had provided wrong information and that user data from Europe was eventually stored in China. For data protection violations, Tiktok was punished in May 2025 with a fine of more than half a billion euros.

And whether a possible agreement, as Trump has hinted, will bring more data protection and transparency to the US, remains doubtful.

Curated by: Chryssa Vachcevanou