President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the United States and China have reached a deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S. This agreement would transfer TikTok’s U.S. assets from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to American owners. This move could finally put an end to a long-standing issue that has been a topic of discussion for nearly a year.
TikTok is a popular social media platform with around 170 million users in the U.S. The deal represents a significant step in ongoing negotiations between the two largest economies in the world, aimed at easing a trade war that has created uncertainty in global markets. Trump noted, “We have a deal on TikTok … We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it.”
The president praised the trade agreement with China, describing it as beneficial for both nations and suggesting it would help maintain significant value. He also mentioned the strong demand for TikTok among families, saying parents are eager for the app to remain available for their children.
However, any final agreement will need approval from Congress, which is currently led by Republicans. In 2024, during the Biden Administration, Congress passed a law requiring the divestiture of TikTok due to concerns over user data potentially being accessed by the Chinese government. This has raised fears about surveillance and influence operations.
Throughout this process, the Trump administration had hesitated to enforce a law that would shut down TikTok, worried it would upset users and disrupt political communication. Instead, they have extended the deadline for divestiture multiple times.
Trump has acknowledged TikTok’s role in his re-election campaign, highlighting his significant following on the platform, which includes 15 million followers. The White House recently created its own official TikTok account as well.
According to CNBC, the deal is expected to be finalized within the next month and will involve both existing investors from ByteDance and new American investors. Reports suggest that TikTok’s U.S. operations will be spun off into a new company based in the U.S. and primarily owned by American investors.
Negotiations for the deal had stalled earlier this year when China expressed disapproval after Trump announced tariffs on Chinese imports. The U.S. government has consistently argued that ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok poses a national security risk, as it could allow the Chinese government to gather data on American users.
ByteDance has countered these claims, stating that its data is stored in the U.S. on Oracle-operated cloud servers and that decisions about content moderation for American users are made within the U.S.
As part of the deal, Oracle will continue its cloud partnership with TikTok. Earlier reports indicated that the White House was looking to involve Oracle and a group of private investors to take control of TikTok’s operations, with Oracle addressing national security concerns.
Shares of Oracle rose nearly 3% following the announcement about the TikTok agreement. A framework for the deal was established on Monday, marking a breakthrough after extensive discussions. The White House has been heavily involved in these negotiations.
Final confirmation of the deal is expected on Friday in a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Several interested parties, including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and a startup led by the founder of OnlyFans, have shown interest in acquiring the fast-growing TikTok business, which analysts estimate could be valued at around $50 billion.
