TikTok Plans US-Only App Amid Trump-Led Pressure to Divest
TikTok is reportedly developing a standalone version of its app specifically for the United States, as political pressure mounts under Donald Trump for a potential forced sale.
Sources told Reuters that teams at the Chinese-owned social media giant have been racing to duplicate and transfer the app’s core infrastructure — including algorithms, AI models, features, and user data — to a separate US-based codebase. The project, known internally as “M2,” carries a September deadline and marks what could be the most significant technical separation between TikTok’s American operations and its global business.
This effort could be a step toward resolving longstanding concerns in Washington over whether ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, would be willing to relinquish its prized recommendation algorithm — the driving force behind the platform’s viral success.
The initiative comes amid renewed political pressure in the US for ByteDance to divest its American arm entirely. Both TikTok and ByteDance have been contacted for comment.
