President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday paving the way for a TikTok deal that could transfer majority ownership of the app to Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While it appears the terms of the agreement are set, it is likely to take more time for the sides to close the deal as they hammer out finer legal and financial points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is going to be American-operated all the way,\u201d Trump said during the signing on Thursday. \u201cI have great respect for President Xi, and I very much appreciate that he approved the deal, because to get it done properly, we really needed the support of China and the approval of China.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the new framework agreement outlined in the executive order, TikTok\u2019s Chinese parent company ByteDance and its affiliates will own less than 20% of TikTok, while \u201ccertain investors\u201d will retain 80% ownership. The plan would achieve the \u201cqualified divestiture\u201d required for TikTok to comply with federal law, according to the order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is not clear who all the parties to the deal are, but Trump said during the signing that Oracle and its co-founder Larry Ellison will play a \u201cbig\u201d role. He added that tech entrepreneur Michael Dell and media mogul Rupert Murdoch will also be involved. Vice President JD Vance said more information will be revealed in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump told reporters last week that the investors are \u201call very well-known people, very famous people actually, financially.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The deal will allow for these American investors to control the app\u2019s algorithm, Vance said. TikTok\u2019s unique algorithm, which curates the type of content users see in their feeds, made the app\u2019s For You page famous for its engagement-driven personalization that democratized virality and transformed online culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked whether he wants to see the new algorithm suggest more MAGA content, Trump told reporters, \u201cI always like MAGA-related.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf I could make it 100% MAGA, I would, but it\u2019s not going to work out that way, unfortunately,\u201d Trump said. \u201cNo, everyone\u2019s going to be treated fairly. Every group, every philosophy, every policy will be treated very fairly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Friday that the Chinese government \u201crespects the wishes of the company and is pleased to see the company conduct commercial negotiations and reach a solution that complies with Chinese laws and regulations and balances interests, all while adhering to market rules.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChina hopes the U.S. will provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies investing in the United States,\u201d ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The deal comes after years of criticism of the social media platform from politicians and security professionals, who have expressed concern over its Chinese ownership. In May, TikTok was fined \u20ac530 million by Ireland\u2019s Data Protection Commissioner for concerns over how it protects user information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The app\u2019s future had been in limbo ever since President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill last year that required ByteDance to sell the platform to an American company or face a ban, citing national security concerns. The law, which was also upheld by the Supreme Court, was supposed to take effect on Jan. 19 this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But aside from the app briefly going dark in the hours before Trump\u2019s second inauguration, TikTok has continued to operate in the U.S. as Trump used executive orders to repeatedly delay the ban. Earlier this month, the president extended TikTok\u2019s shutdown deadline for a fourth time, giving it until Dec. 16 to complete the framework of a long-awaited deal between Washington and Beijing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thursday\u2019s executive order extended the ban\u2019s non-enforcement to 120 days, or until Jan. 23, in order to give the divestiture time to be completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In past years, efforts to ban TikTok, which is estimated to have around 170 million active users in the U.S., had come from both sides of the political aisle. U.S. officials questioned the company over whether ByteDance could share user data with the Chinese government, as well as whether China could use the platform\u2019s algorithm to manipulate public opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But by the time the ban was slated to finally kick in, many of those same lawmakers had changed their tune following popular discontent over the looming loss of the app. In January, the Biden White House said that it would pass responsibility for enforcing the ban to Trump\u2019s incoming administration, and congressional leaders who had once championed the ban seemed to shy away from enforcement as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump himself has also flip-flopped on his attitude toward TikTok. In 2020, during his first term, he signed an executive order to effectively ban the app. (The order was later halted in court.) By 2024, however, he openly voiced his opposition to a TikTok ban and joined the platform himself in an attempt to reach young voters, even publishing a video promising to \u201csave TikTok.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Thursday, Trump also acknowledged TikTok\u2019s importance to the many businesses that rely on the app to advertise their products and services. He said part of why he \u201cwanted to do the deal so badly\u201d was because of the influx of calls he received from small business owners over the last six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSmall businesses have become very successful because of TikTok, and we didn\u2019t think of that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n