Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — TikTok has at last finalized a deal to keep the popular video sharing platform operating in the U.S. after years of uncertainty, but questions remain about whether users’ experience will change and whether the changes actually address security concerns around the app.

Here’s what to know about the deal, which created a new TikTok U.S. joint venture after social video platform company signed agreements with major investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX.

Why was the deal needed?

After wide bipartisan majorities in Congress passed — and President Joe Biden signed — a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it did not find a new owner in the place of China’s ByteDance, the platform was set to go dark on the law’s January 2025 deadline. For several hours, it did. But on his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep it running while his administration sought an agreement for the sale of the company. A string of orders continued to extend the deadline until this deal was reached.

We don’t know how the TikTok experience will change, but there’s no new app

American TikTok users can continue using the same app, according to TikTok. But exactly what American users will see on their TikTok feeds once the changeover happens remains unclear.

The algorithm — the secret sauce that powers its addictive video feed — powering the U.S. backend will be licensed from ByteDance and then retrained on U.S. user data and updated. The act of retraining the content recommendation formula is certain to at least have subtle changes to a user’s personalized feeds.

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Any noticeable changes made to a social media platform’s service raises the risk of alienating its audience, said Jasmine Enberg, an analyst for the research firm eMarketer.

TikTok’s press release claims U.S. creators will still be discoverable in other regions worldwide, and businesses will be able to maintain global reach. But how interoperability between the U.S. and ByteDance to maintain a global TikTok experience is currently unknown.

The retrained algorithm means that the trends — “and what dominates feeds — will feel distinctly American,” said Forrester analyst Kelsey Chickering.

“Global content will still appear, but its ranking will change,” she said. “This matters because the algorithm is the heartbeat of the app’s addictive experience. The question becomes: Will a U.S.-centric feed supercharge engagement, or will it chip away at TikTok’s cultural cachet?”

What is known, however, is that there is an updated Terms of Service.

One of the updates notes that while users retain ownership of their content, TikTok is able to use that content to operate or improve the platform, subject to settings.

Americans under the age of 13 will be limited to an “Under 13 Experience.”

And users are also responsible for any posted AI-generated content and must label it as created by artificial intelligence.

TikTok’s new owners have ties to Trump

Although he no longer runs Oracle as its CEO, company co-founder Larry Ellison remains a top executive while also overseeing an estimated personal fortune of $390 billion. Ellison, 81, now could be in line to become a behind-the-scenes power player in the media, having already helped finance Skydance’s recently completed $8 billion merger with Paramount, a deal engineered by his son, David. Ellison’s relationship with the Trump administration dates back to the president’s first term, where he played a role in the administration’s efforts to get ByteDance to sell TikTok.

These ties have raised concerns among some users around content moderation and what videos American users will see on their feeds.

“If moderation happens to tilt toward one political viewpoint or fails to curb misinformation, TikTok risks a user exodus to rival platforms,” Chickering said. “We’ve seen this before when Twitter’s transformation into X triggered fallout from users and advertisers.”

The deal does not completely address security concerns in the law

Lawmakers previously expressed concern that the Chinese government could use TikTok’s algorithm to push propaganda or gather data on individual users, a key reason Congress passed legislation in 2024 requiring the company’s divestment from Beijing-based owner ByteDance.

The law prohibits “any cooperation with respect to the operation of a content recommendation algorithm” between ByteDance and a new potential American ownership group, so it is unclear how ByteDance’s continued involvement in this arrangement — especially since they will license the algorithm to the U.S. entity — will play out.

How are users and creators reacting?

Skip Chapman, co-owner of KAFX Body in Manasquan, New Jersey, which makes and sells natural deodorants, launched his business in April 2023 on TikTok when TikTok shop was still in beta testing. He said he’s mainly glad he can stop worrying about the potential of a TikTok ban, the threat of which has been looming over his business for over a year. He sells his products on his own website and Amazon, but 80% of sales still come from the TikTok shop and it is the primary way he reaches new customers.

He said he is cautiously optimistic the deal will be good for TikTok and his shop, but he is a little concerned that the new owners might de-prioritize the e-commerce aspect of TikTok.

“The past two years, TikTok has really leaned into this live social commerce and just the ability to sell on the platform and they’ve kind of prioritized it and I’m hoping that the new owners continue to prioritize it and even more so add more features, more benefits, more opportunities for my business,” he said. “Under new ownership, they could deprioritize it and focus more on creators doing other things or influencers that are doing maybe paid brand deals, and that would have less of a positive effect on us.”

Vanessa Barreat owns La Vecindad Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas, and she has TikTok page for the restaurant that has over 100,000 followers. Visibility on the site has helped her attract customers, particularly out-of-towners, and spend less on marketing.

She said she’s in a “wait-and-see mindset” about the deal.

“Anytime there’s a major shift or deal, there’s uncertainty, but I’m not operating from fear,” she said. “TikTok has empowered so many voices that historically didn’t have access to platforms like this, and that impact doesn’t disappear overnight.”

The St. Paul Port Authority is offering economic development grants of $50,000 to $150,000 to support businesses within about a mile radius of the Minnesota State Capitol complex.

Backed by an $870,000 allocation from the state, the Port Authority launched the Capitol Outreach for Revitalization and Expansion grant program in early January, with the goal of supporting reinvestment and economic growth around the Capitol building.

Eligible businesses

Eligible businesses are those that are situated between Marion Street and Jackson Street, and between Pennsylvania Avenue and the Minnesota History Center on West Kellogg Boulevard.

Grants are available for new, existing or relocating for-profit businesses in the Capitol area, and can be used for future capital improvement projects that strengthen the local economic and community. That includes facade improvements, energy upgrades, new equipment, accessibility improvements and safety upgrades.

Applications

Applications require at least two vendor bids for proposed work or purchases, a detailed budget showing all funding sources and uses, proof of insurance, and three years of financial statements or tax returns. New businesses must submit a pro forma with three-year cash flow projections.

Funding will be awarded through two competitive application rounds, with the first round application due March 31. Applicants not selected in the first round may reapply in the second round, which closes Aug. 31.

How to learn more

A virtual information session where businesses can learn more about the program and ask questions will be held at 9 a.m. on Feb 5.

Applications will be reviewed and awarded by the Port Authority through a point-based, competitive process, and priority will be given to projects that support job creation, tax base expansion and overall economic and community vitality.

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Mobile businesses, home-based businesses, nonprofits, schools and government entities are not eligible to apply.

For more information, visit sppa.com/portfinancing/coregrant.

By KAMILA HRABCHUK and KOSTYA MANENKOV

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the future of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region will be a key focus as negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States meet in Abu Dhabi on Friday for talks to end Russia’s nearly four-year full-scale invasion.

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The UAE’s foreign ministry said the talks commenced on Friday and are scheduled to continue over two days “as part of ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis.”

The three-way talks come hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the settlement in Ukraine with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys during marathon overnight talks. The Kremlin insisted that to reach a peace deal, Kyiv must withdraw its troops from the areas in the east that Russia illegally annexed but never fully captured.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, reiterated his openness to establishing a free trade zone under Ukraine’s control in the country’s east. He said he discussed the proposal with Trump in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, and told reporters: “I think it will be positive for our business.”

Friday is the first known time that officials from the Trump administration simultaneously meet with negotiators from both Ukraine and Russia. While it’s unclear how the talks will unfold and many obstacles to peace remain, some see it as a sign that the parties are making headway in closing a deal.

Zelenskyy said after meeting with Trump that while the future status of land in eastern Ukraine currently occupied by Russia remains unresolved, the peace proposals are “nearly ready.”

The Kremlin offered little detail beyond calling Friday’s meeting a “working group on security issues.”

Kremlin insists on ‘solving territorial issue’

“Today’s meeting will be in the format of Ukraine, Russia and the United States, and afterward the Europeans will certainly receive feedback from us,” Zelenskyy told journalists in a WhatsApp audio message.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian delegation, headed by Adm. Kostyukov, comprises of military officials

Separately, Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev will hold talks with Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff on economic issues, he confirmed.

Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, who participated in Putin’s meeting with Witkoff and Jared Kushner, said “it was reaffirmed that reaching a long-term settlement can’t be expected without solving the territorial issue.”

Those talks, which began just before midnight in Moscow, lasted nearly four hours past 3 a.m. Friday. They came hours after Zelenskyy sharply criticized his European allies Thursday for what he cast as their slow and fragmented response that he said has left Ukraine at the mercy of Putin amid an ongoing U.S. push for a peace settlement.

Ushakov noted that Trump’s envoys informed Putin about Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy, as well as earlier discussions they had with Ukrainian and European officials. He described the talks with the U.S. as “frank, constructive” and “fruitful.”

Witkoff and Kushner were joined by Josh Gruenbaum, the head of the Federal Acquisition Service who serves as a senior adviser on Trump’s Board of Peace that Russia has been invited to join. While Russia is considering the invitation, Putin reaffirmed his offer to send $1 billion to the board from Russian assets frozen in the U.S. to help fund rebuilding Gaza.

Asked about Putin’s proposal to use Russia’s frozen assets for the contribution to the Board of Peace, Trump said he thought it was fine. “If he’s using his money, that’s great,” he said

Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy

Zelenskyy met with Trump behind closed doors for about an hour at the World Economic Forum in Davos, describing the meeting as “productive and meaningful.”

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew back to Washington from Davos, Trump said his meeting with Zelenskyy went well, adding that both Putin and Zelenskyy want to reach a deal and that “everyone’s making concessions” to try to end the war.

He said the sticking points in talks remain the same as they’ve been during talks held during the past six or seven months, noting “boundaries” was a key issue. “The main hold-up is the same things that’s been holding it up for the last year,” he said.

Russia’s bigger army has managed to capture about 20% of Ukraine since hostilities began in 2014 and its full-scale invasion of 2022. But the battlefield gains along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line have been costly for Moscow, and the Russian economy is feeling the consequences of the war and international sanctions.

Ukraine is short of money and, despite significantly boosting its own arms manufacturing, still needs Western weaponry. It is also short-handed on the front line. Its defense minister last week reported some 200,000 troop desertions, and draft-dodging by about 2 million Ukrainians.

Zelenskyy blasts European allies

Addressing the World Economic Forum after meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy listed a litany of grievances and criticisms of Europe.

European countries, which see their own future defense at stake in the war on its eastern flank, have provided financial, military and humanitarian support for Kyiv. But not all members of the 27-nation European Union are helping. Ukraine also has been frustrated by political disagreements within Europe over how to deal with Russia, as well as the bloc’s at times slow-moving responses.

“Europe looks lost,” Zelenskyy said in his speech, urging the continent to become a global force. He contrasted Europe’s response with Washington’s bold steps in Venezuela and Iran.

The former comic actor referred to the movie “Groundhog Day,” in which the main character must relive the same day over and over again.

“Just last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words: Europe needs to know how to defend itself. A year has passed. And nothing has changed. We are still in a situation where I must say the same words again,” Zelenskyy said.

He chided Europe for being slow to act on key decisions, spending too little on defense, failing to stop Russia’s ”shadow fleet” of oil tankers that are breaking international sanctions, and balking at using its frozen assets in Europe to finance Ukraine, among other things.

Hrabchuk reported from Kyiv, Ukraine and Manenkov from Davos, Switzerland. Josh Boak on Air Force One, Meg Kinnard in Houston and Ali Swenson from Washington contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

By PATRICK WHITTLE, RODRIQUE NGOWI and LEAH WILLINGHAM, Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s leading Republican and Democratic officials, now engaged in one of the nation’s highest profile Senate races, offered starkly different comments on Friday as a surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents racked up their arrest totals.

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Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has challenged immigration officials to provide judicial warrants, real-time arrest numbers and basic information about who is being detained in Maine.

Mills also called on her Republican rival, Sen. Susan Collins, to act after the House’s GOP majority defeated efforts by Democrats to curtail ICE funding.

“Let me be clear: Maine will not be intimidated, and the reckless actions that we’ve seen ICE turn to will not be tolerated here in Maine,” Mills said Friday.

Collins avoided criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics, other than to say that people who are in the country legally should not be the target of ICE investigations. She also said that policies she has advocated for, including providing body cameras and de-escalation training for ICE personnel, could help improve accountability and trust.

And as protest organizers announced Friday demonstrations against ICE in Maine’s largest cities, she urged them to avoid interfering with ICE arrests.

“There are people in Maine and elsewhere who have entered this country illegally and who have engaged in criminal activity,” Collins said in a statement. “They could be subject to arrest and deportation pursuant to the laws of the United States, and people who are exercising the right to peacefully gather and protest their government should be careful not to interfere with law enforcement efforts while doing so.”

Mills’ run for Collins’ seat could ultimately help determine the balance of the Senate. Mills, who is termed out as governor, must first beat oyster farmer Graham Platner, whose outsider campaign is endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, in the Democratic primary. Platner has strongly condemned ICE’s surge in Maine, and posted a video on social media Friday offering step-by-step advice on how to resist.

“Over the past couple days, ICE’s operations are clearly rounding up people who are legally in the state of Maine,” Platner said in the Facebook reel. “I’m sick and tired of hearing that legally there is nothing that law enforcement in Maine can do to protect citizens from these thugs.”

ICE says ‘Operation Catch of the Day’ has about 1,400 targets

The enforcement action began Tuesday and has succeeded in removing dangerous criminals from the community, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to media on Thursday.

Some of the more than 100 arrests were of people “convicted of horrific crimes including aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child,” McLaughlin said.

The detentions in Maine, a mostly rural state where about 4% of the 1.4 million residents are foreign-born, have sparked anxiety in Portland and Lewiston, which are home to sizable immigrant and refugee populations, particularly from African nations.

Community leaders say that just like in other U.S. cities where the agency has surged forces, some families are staying indoors, avoiding work and keeping children home from school for fear of arrest.

Roofer says ICE agent threatened his family

Cristian Vaca, an immigrant from Ecuador who lives in Biddeford, said ICE agents repeatedly threatened him Wednesday outside his home, where the 28-year-old roofer lives with his wife and young son.

“I’m here legally. I came here in September 2023,” Vaca said, citing his family’s safety and economic opportunity as reasons for the move.

Speaking to The Associated Press in Spanish through a translator, Vaca said he was sitting on his couch when he noticed agents taking photos outside.

Vaca said he has a U.S. Social Security number, a work permit and pays income taxes. A video Vaca took shows an ICE agent speaking to him through his closed front door.

Before turning away, the agent says, “We’re going to come back for your whole family, okay?” A child’s voice can be heard in the background.

Protest organizers plan gathering in Portland’s Monument Square

Organizers announced more demonstrations, one planned for Friday evening in downtown Portland. A small group of demonstrators also gathered Thursday afternoon and again Friday morning outside an ICE field office in Scarborough.

“Maine is one of those places where you look out for your neighbors and everyone’s there,” said one of the Scarborough demonstrators, college student Ava Gleason. “We’re a community, and to see people come in and rip apart a community is freaking terrifying.”

Willingham reported from Boston.