In a significant development, the United States and China have reached an agreement to ensure TikTok continues its operations in the US. President Donald Trump announced the deal, stating that he will confirm the details with Chinese President Xi Jinping during an upcoming call. TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, had faced the threat of a shutdown unless it sold its US operations. However, Trump has repeatedly postponed the ban since its initial announcement in January, with the latest extension pushing the deadline to December 16.
Under the negotiated deal, TikTok’s US business will be controlled by an investor consortium, including tech giant Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The new US entity will see American investors holding approximately 80% of the stake, with US nationals dominating the board, including one government-appointed member. US users will transition to a new app, currently in testing, which will utilize content-recommendation algorithms licensed from ByteDance—a key factor in TikTok’s success.
Oracle will maintain its existing agreement to host TikTok servers within the US, addressing concerns about data security. The deal is expected to be finalized within the next 30 to 45 days. Earlier, a US trade delegation in Madrid announced a ‘framework’ agreement with China, which China confirmed but emphasized that no deal would compromise its firms’ interests. Wang Jingtao, deputy head of China’s cyberspace administration, highlighted that the agreement includes licensing algorithms and intellectual property rights, subject to Chinese government approval.
Trump’s reversal on TikTok marks a shift from his initial stance during his first term, when he called for the app’s ban. The US Supreme Court upheld a 2024 law banning TikTok unless ByteDance sold its US operations, citing national security concerns. ByteDance has consistently denied sharing user data with the Chinese government, maintaining that its US operations are independent. The deadline for a sale has been extended four times, with the latest delay set to expire on December 16.