Inside the TikTok deal: the politics of the algorithm episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 25, 2025 · 23 MIN

Inside the TikTok deal: the politics of the algorithm

from The Take · host Al Jazeera

TikTok’s feed is famous for knowing users better than they know themselves. Now, a US deal could put that power in the hands of Trump allies and tech giants. What might change for the 170 million Americans on the app – and what does this fight reveal about control of speech and data? In this episode: Robert Rogowsky, Professor of Trade and Economic Diplomacy at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies Episode credits: This episode was produced by Tamara Khandaker, Sarí el-Khalili, and Chloe K. Li, with Manny Panaretos, Melanie Marich, Marcos Bartolomé, Kisaa Zehra, Farhan Rafid, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Kylene Kiang.   Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is the Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

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Inside the TikTok deal: the politics of the algorithm

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This episode was published on September 25, 2025.

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TikTok’s feed is famous for knowing users better than they know themselves. Now, a US deal could put that power in the hands of Trump allies and tech giants. What might change for the 170 million Americans on the app – and what does this fight...

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