How TikTok’s Algorithm Could Shift with a U.S. Spin-off

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.3 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 29 October 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

TikTok’s algorithm has become a cultural force, shaping what more than a billion users see and share, but its future may be shifting. As the platform prepares for a U.S.-only spin-off, Kelley Cotter, an assistant professor in the department of human-centered computing and social informatics at Pennsylvania State University, joins Science Quickly to explore how changes in ownership could affect the algorithm’s influence and transparency and the kinds of content we consume. Recommended Reading “TikTok Sale Puts App’s Algorithm in the Spotlight—A Social Media Expert Explains How the For You Page Works and What Changes Are in Store,” by Kelley Cotter, in the Conversation. Published online September 22, 2025 E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check the show. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:38.3	TikTok's algorithm, which shapes what more than a billion users see when they use the app,
1:50.0	has developed an almost mystical reputation for figuring out what people want to watch.
1:54.9	Those powers aren't actually magical, but they do matter.
1:58.8	An algorithm as widely used as TikToks can have a huge impact on our culture
2:02.9	by determining what information people receive and how. As TikTok prepares to spin off a US-only
2:09.0	version of the app with majority American ownership, plenty of questions loom about how the platform
2:14.3	and its almighty algorithm might change. Will new investors reshape what
2:19.2	kinds of content is promoted or suppressed? Here to break down what we know about the highly
2:23.5	anticipated TikTok sale and what it might mean for the platform's future is Kelly Cotter,
	...

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