TikTok's January corporate split reportedly left more day-to-day links to its global organization than the deal's clean-break framing suggested. POLITICO reports that current and former employees, along with internal communications, show staff at TikTok USDS Joint Venture still coordinate with global teams on product features, dangerous trends and policy work.
US employees also continue to use Lark, ByteDance's internal chat system, to communicate across the companies, according to the report. TikTok US has added Aime, a ByteDance-built AI assistant inside Lark. An employee told POLITICO that leaders encouraged its use while warning staff not to share sensitive US user data with it. The reporting describes a risk of human error, not proof that restricted data was transferred after the split.
TikTok argues that interoperability is necessary to preserve a global product, allowing American creators and businesses to reach users abroad. The company says Americans' data is protected under the new structure and that the joint venture operates with safeguards covering data, the recommendation algorithm, content moderation and software.
Some barriers did change. POLITICO reports that US staff received new email addresses and compensation arrangements, the US entity gained final say over rules for American users, and visits to global-office floors now require chaperones and no laptops. But key details remain unclear, including how the recommendation algorithm is licensed, maintained and updated, leaving unanswered questions about how separate the two operations are in practice.
