The future of TikTok in the United States may finally be taking shape after months of uncertainty. In a phone call on Friday morning, President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping made progress toward finalizing the deal that would transfer control of TikTok’s U.S. operations to American investors.
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In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated, “We made progress on many very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal.” He added that the call was “very productive,” and both leaders look forward to meeting at the upcoming APEC summit in South Korea.
The move follows pressure and negotiations triggered by a 2024 law requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. operations.
Following the call, ByteDance released a statement that it will “work in accordance with applicable laws to ensure TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok U.S.”
What’s in the Deal?
Final details of the agreement have not been publicly released.
According to reports, the proposed deal would see a consortium of U.S. investors, including Oracle (ORCL), Andreessen Horowitz, and Silver Lake, acquire at least 80% of TikTok’s U.S. assets. The remaining 20% would stay with Chinese stakeholders.
Also, the new entity would be overseen by a majority-U.S. board, with one member appointed by the Trump administration.
Oracle is expected to continue managing TikTok’s U.S. user data, a security measure that was first announced in 2020.
The Algorithm Dilemma
Despite the progress, one major uncertainty remains: TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, which determines what users see on their “For You” feed and is considered key intellectual property by ByteDance.
The U.S. law prohibits any cooperation between the new American entity and ByteDance regarding its use. This raises the possibility that the U.S. version of TikTok may need to develop its own algorithm from scratch.
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