Trump says TikTok deal is done, outlines US-controlled path for the app

President Donald Trump said a deal to reconfigure TikTok’s ownership in the United States is done, laying out a framework that would place the app under US control and subject to U.S. governance and security measures even as final sign-off from Beijing remains pending. Under the plan, TikTok’s algorithm would be retrained on data from American users and hosted by Oracle, with the new recommendation system and other critical components operated by a joint venture formed by US investors. ByteDance would own less than 20% of the new entity as part of a qualified divestiture, while a US-based board with cybersecurity expertise would oversee compliance and safety. The arrangement centers on giving the United States a strong governance role over the platform while preserving access for American users, according to White House officials. China has not publicly commented on the specifics, and Beijing has historically conditioned any sale on its approval and alignment with its laws and economic priorities. While the White House described the plan as approved by President Xi Jinping in a call on Sept. 19, the details have not been validated by Chinese authorities, and talks continue behind the scenes with Beijing as part of the broader process.

The announcement comes as a broader political and legal framework around TikTok’s fate has unfolded since lawmakers in the United States moved to force ByteDance to divest or face a nationwide ban. In April 2024, the U.S. Congress passed a bill signed by President Joe Biden that gave ByteDance nine months to find a US-approved buyer or risk TikTok being barred from the country. TikTok challenged the law in court, arguing it was unconstitutional and would chill free speech by restricting access for millions of American users. Those legal challenges complicated the path forward and contributed to a series of extensions and negotiations that culminate, in part, in the framework now being described by the White House.

The proposed deal envisions a technological handoff that some observers say could be the most consequential aspect of the sale. The algorithm—widely viewed as TikTok’s most valuable asset because it determines what users see in their feeds—would be copied and retrained using data from U.S. users. Oracle, already a data-hosting partner for TikTok’s U.S. user data, would audit and help operate the new system from a U.S.-based infrastructure. A newly formed joint venture would bring together American investors to manage daily operations and technical oversight, with the goal of satisfying the administration’s security and data-protection concerns. White House officials said the venture would seek additional patriotic investors and appoint board members with cybersecurity credentials to oversee the app’s operations. In parallel, the administration signaled that China might grant an export license for TikTok’s algorithm as part of the negotiations, a move that would help unlock the technical pathway for the U.S.-centered structure to function globally.

Private equity firm Silver Lake, which has investments in technology and other high-profile companies, was identified as a participant in the deal structure, underscoring the search for deep-pocket investors willing to assume governance responsibilities and provide strategic expertise. Officials stressed that ByteDance would maintain a minority stake in the reorganized entity, reinforcing Washington’s emphasis on a U.S.-led control model rather than a complete ByteDance withdrawal. The White House stressed that the new ownership arrangement would be designed to meet the safeguards required by the 2024 law and would involve a “qualified divestiture” that preserves U.S. control over the most sensitive components of TikTok’s operation.

Despite the framework’s breadth, several important questions remain unsettled. Beijing has historically treated any sale as a matter of national sovereignty and a commercial decision that requires Chinese state approval, and officials have signaled they will weigh strategic and economic implications before granting any concession. In Washington, officials have signaled that the transaction could be finalized only if the Chinese government signs off and if the new entity can demonstrate robust protections against data exposure and interference. The timing remains uncertain, even as U.S. officials said they expect China to begin taking steps to support the deal, including moving toward an export-license decision related to TikTok’s algorithm. President Trump has said he intends to meet Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in late October in South Korea, a forum many analysts see as a potential pressure point for finalizing the arrangement.

For many users, the most immediate question is how a U.S.-centric control framework would affect the TikTok experience. TikTok says American users spent about 51 minutes per day on the app in 2024, underscoring the platform’s significant engagement and the potential disruption any shifts in the algorithm could create. Analysts have warned that retraining the algorithm on U.S. data could alter the balance of content recommendations, potentially changing what becomes viral and which creators gain visibility. Kelsey Chickering, an analyst at Forrester, said the retraining could meaningfully alter the user experience and that the way the scales tilt between content types and political viewpoints could influence user retention and platform loyalty. “The jury’s out on whether this new, US-only, app will be a true replicate of the old one, with just as powerful of an algorithm and experience,” she noted. If the algorithm tilts toward different political signals or content moderation choices, some users could migrate to rival platforms like Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts, as has been observed in other tech shifts.

The questions now center on the mechanics of divestiture, the timelines for export licensing, and the political signaling from Beijing as the deal proceeds. White House officials have tied the plan to a 120-day pause in the deadline set by the 2024 law, contingent on the signing of an executive order to implement the pause, which could provide breathing room for negotiations and regulatory reviews. Officials also said they expect ongoing discussions with China to advance in parallel with the U.S. process, including the possibility of additional steps to align the transaction with China’s regulatory and strategic concerns. As talks move forward, the public timeline remains uncertain, and the ultimate fate of TikTok in the United States will depend on a series of approvals, audits, and market-facing decisions that could unfold over weeks or months.

In the near term, the plan appears to reflect a compromise between preserving access to a major social platform for American users and addressing national-security concerns that have shaped U.S. policy toward Chinese technology. It also emphasizes the role of American technology partners in safeguarding data and ensuring compliance with U.S. standards, even as Beijing seeks to protect the interests of ByteDance and the broader Chinese tech ecosystem. Whether this framework will deliver a lasting, divestiture-based solution—and how the algorithm and content policies will evolve under a U.S.-centric model—will become clearer as negotiations continue and the involved parties seek formal approvals.