After more than a year in an impasse with the U.S. government and no formal agreement to continue operating in the U.S., TikTok has sought to project an optimistic vision for its future in the country of 170 million users. In Lisbon, the platform’s global vice president of business solutions, Hartun Weiss, took to the stage at the Web Summit and avoided talking about “banning” applications, preferring to strengthen the platform’s commitment to its users and emphasize its impact on culture and the digital economy.
— We are very optimistic and have always been in our five and a half years here. I think that’s what sets us apart. When people go to work to build rather than just repair, it’s a different type of state of mind, Weiss told a packed audience at a technology event. —We’ve built something that is now used by over 1.1 billion users in over 150 countries.
The signing is expected to take place next Thursday, as the US and China still need to work out the final details of the deal, but President Trump told CNBC that changes to the platform’s algorithms, which are required to operate in the US under the license agreement with Oracle, have not been ruled out.
Cartoon declined to go into detail about possible changes to the U.S. system. She suggested that the platform will spend more time talking about new opportunities with the community.
— It is our responsibility to support them. he said. — We remain confident in our platform and its ability to innovate. Create opportunities for creators livesell and manage trade. And that’s something we can continue to expect from TikTok, no matter the stage, platform size, or scale. She asserted that artificial intelligence tools are meant to help them, not replace them.
Chinese platform executives acknowledged the growing competition in the entertainment and short video application market, but asserted that the company is focused on becoming an increasingly strategic partner for creators, brands, and enterprises.
— We are ready for the next step — he said.
For business owners, China’s platforms have long since ceased to be just applications for music, entertainment and dance, and have become true “growth engines” of the economy.
She cited trends like “Travel Tok,” a profile focused on travel experiences, and “Book Tok,” an account dedicated to reading on the platform, which has seen a 40% increase in book sales over the past 18 months.
— Discovery through search on the platform is no longer just a transaction. It has become an experiential behavior within the app, he concludes.
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