Discussion
ByteDance (TikTok owner) valuation is north of $300 billion. Trump "deal" to give it to his oligarch supporters is "valued" at $14 billion, says Vance.
So correct me if this is wrong: They're essentially nationalizing a foreign company and giving it to cronies who'll pay pennies on the dollar.
@dangillmor - another one of Agent Orange’s extraordinary ‘deals’ - selling a product he doesn’t own to people who should know better, while arguing it’s better for US security. All the while, ByteDance still maintains the core infrastructure and algorithms - all still open to Chinese government oversight.
@dangillmor classic Chicago Boys economics
@dangillmor both are way too much. I think $0 or maybe even negative $300billion is more appropriate
Of course!
That's how rich oligarchs and similar fascist tech bros operate. Grees, fraud and corruption all the way to their private untaxed bank accounts.
@dangillmor Aren't they only buying the US Division of the company & the rest of the world will still use the current Chinese version? Of course we could be getting an incorrect version
@dangillmor I thought the only thing Oracle/US would own is the algorithm and not the platform. They are just buying a component that will control what people see and how often.
@dangillmor As a citizen of a post-communist country I can’t but laugh at people calling this corpocracy “capitalist” and painting any critique of it as “communist.” This resembles good old real socialism of the former eastern bloc more than anything else.
@dangillmor There may be multiple things going on.
1) A chance for Trump's cronies to buy a piece at firesale prices (but they may have to “invest” in one of Trump’s crypto schemes to close the deal).
2) TikTok is now where many younger people get their information. Bringing it under direct US control lets the regime decide what gets seen on TikTok. As the Fox generation ages out, the far-right is working to capture the major info channels (Twitter, TikTok, etc.) used by the next generations.
@dangillmor
Grifters gonna grift 🤑
@dangillmor I wonder what will happen to the userbase after this change. Will they jump ship leaving it a MySpace-like shell full of bots and migrate to whatever new shiny platform surfaces. That said, Twitter still has a userbase with Musk at the helm, so I guess it'll get a long fine
@dangillmor That's basically Soviet Union model - state capitalism.
@dangillmor
Not quite.
1. TikTok is only one of ByteDance's products.
2. TikTok is banned in China, and ByteDance has an alternative service.
3. There has been no mention of TikTok outside of the US.
The world doesn't revolve around the US.
@dangillmor "Analysts have previously estimated TikTok’s U.S. operations could be worth between $30 billion to $35 billion." So not as extreme as you suggest, but still pretty bad. Also, there are reports that whoever buys has to also pay a "finders fee" to US Gov.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/25/trump-approves-tiktok-deal-through-executive-order.html
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/26/g-s1-90598/tiktok-deal-trump-oracle
That is exactly what the #TikTok deal is.
It does nothing to stop Chinese control of their mind-rotting algorithm. It only gives some of the cash to billionaire associates of Trump.
@dangillmor imagine the kickbacks, with no US legal system to investigate.
@dangillmor Sounds similar to what went on in Russia - did the Orange One get tips from his buddy Putin? 😉 Someone will no doubt receive a generous back-hander.
You spelled "stealing" wrong.
We are a network of scientists, developers and organizations building the next generation of digital spaces for open science.
