CNN 5 Things One Thing: New TikTok: Different Owners, Fresh Censorship Concerns
Feb 1, 2026
Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Tech Editor and technology journalist, breaks down TikTok’s U.S. ownership change and the stir it has caused. She walks through policy tweaks, algorithm power, outage-era upload failures, and the tricky question of political suppression. Short, sharp, and timely takes on how platform shifts ripple through users and news.
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Oval Office Joke Became Real Concern
- President Trump suggested he could push TikTok's algorithm toward MAGA content during the Oval Office moment.
- That exchange now shapes fears about political meddling after U.S. buyers took control.
New U.S. Ownership Structure
- A new U.S. joint venture including Oracle, Silver Lake and Larry Ellison now runs TikTok U.S. assets.
- ByteDance retains under 20% ownership, raising ongoing security and influence questions.
Algorithm Retraining Raises Questions
- The TikTok algorithm is central to its product and is being retrained on U.S. user data under the joint venture.
- Details on timeline and methods are unknown, leaving users and experts uncertain.
