White House outlines TikTok deal that would give US control of algorithm
Deal would assign six of seven U.S. board seats and have Oracle oversee data privacy as negotiations with Beijing continue
The White House outlined an agreement on TikTok's U.S. operations that would place control of the app's algorithm in American hands and give six of seven seats on the U.S. board to Americans. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said a deal could be signed in the coming days, but Beijing has yet to comment.
Under the outline, data and privacy protections would be led by Oracle, and the algorithm would be controlled by the United States as well. Oracle, the software company led by Larry Ellison, would oversee U.S. data and privacy as part of the arrangement.
The plan comes after more than a year of negotiations and after President Donald Trump delayed a ban on TikTok four times since it was first announced in January. The ban deadline was pushed to December. The United States Supreme Court ruled in January that TikTok could be banned unless ByteDance divested its U.S. operations, and the app briefly went dark before the delay. The Justice Department had warned that TikTok's access to U.S. user data posed a national security threat of immense depth and scale.
Trump said on Truth Social that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had a productive phone call and that Xi had approved the deal, though Beijing had not confirmed. The official Chinese state media published a cautious note, with Xinhua saying Beijing welcomes negotiations but offering no firm commitment.
Negotiations have centered on who would own the algorithm that pushes content to the platform's roughly 170 million American users. During remarks in the United Kingdom alongside Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump sidestepped a question about whether an American buyer would need to build a new algorithm or could continue to use TikTok's current algorithm. The discussion also touched on whether an American buyer would acquire TikTok's U.S. business outright or through a U.S. investor group.
TikTok's U.S. user base remains a key focal point of the talks, and U.S. officials have stressed that the arrangement aims to address national security concerns while preserving access for American users. Separately, the Ellison family has expanded its footprint in U.S. media circles; David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, recently acquired Paramount, adding to the family’s influence in media.
The timeline remains fluid, with officials urging patience as Beijing reviews the terms. U.S. officials say a signed agreement would implement more stringent data controls, relocate algorithm governance to U.S. authorities, and maintain user access under new oversight. Beijing has not publicly signaled a final stance, and the negotiations continue to unfold against a broader backdrop of U.S.-China technology and data-security tensions.