Alice Han

The agreement is meant to sever Beijing's influence, safeguard user data, and settle national security fears.

Well, James, this is a big victory for ByteDance and TikTok, and I would say Trump, who was definitely in support of this deal.

Effectively, it creates a joint venture structure, which is funny because you often hear about this in the Chinese context.

But here we are in the new age where the U.S.

is mimicking aspects of Chinese industrial policy.

So effectively, this joint venture allows TikTok USA to subsist in accordance with American rules.

This is a big victory, I think, for both sides.

What is your takeaway from this?

What are you using it for?

No, I have a similar view, but I would delineate it this way.

I would say that Trump and his coterie of billionaires have put economic interest above the interest of everyday American state of security and privacy.

The reason that Pafaka, the act, was put into place was because people in Congress were scared that this tool, ByteDance, could be used to spy on everyday Americans.

It could be part of a political interference or surveillance campaign.

Now, we don't have evidence, I think, to fully corroborate those views.

But if you're an American congressman, I think you're looking at this deal and thinking it solves none of the issues, the national security, data security, privacy issues that we have conveyed and voiced.

And ultimately, it rewards the billionaires who now have a seat at the table and can milk this cow for all it's worth.

That is my view.

And this is why I think ultimately the Chinese and ByteDance movement

see this as a victory because they've been able to keep the algorithm, which from day one was a key national security priority as per their data transfer laws.

But at the same time, it benefits Trump because it's a great political platform for him.