TikTok has finalized a deal to create a new American entity, avoiding the looming threat of a ban in the U.S. that has been in discussion for years. The social video platform company signed agreements with major investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX to form the joint venture. The company said in a statement that the new version will operate under "defined safeguards" with an emphasis on data protections and software assurances for U.S. users. The establishment of a U.S. unit ends years of uncertainty about the fate of the popular video-sharing platform in the United States.
Rep. John Moolenaar has requested an urgent briefing from the White House after Trump supported a deal giving Americans a majority stake in TikTok. Moolenaar, chair of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, says the ownership transition is a step forward but not the only requirement. The deal, reached nearly two weeks ago, involves selling stakes in TikTok to comply with the law and licensing TikTok's all-important algorithm. However, Moolenaar wants more details. Critics argue the deal doesn't fully comply with the law, as ByteDance might still have influence.
By JOSH BOAK, SUMAN NAISHADHAM and DIDI TANG Associated Press
A framework deal has been reached between China and the U.S. for the ownership of TikTok. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday after trade talks in Madrid that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping would speak Friday to possibly finalize the deal. Bessent says the objective was to switch to U.S. ownership from China's ByteDance. China's international trade representative told reporters that the sides have reached "basic framework consensus." During Joe Biden's presidency, Congress and the White House used national security grounds to approve a U.S. ban on TikTok unless its Chinese parent company sold its controlling stake.
Less than a month after extending a deadline to ban TikTok for the third time, President Donald Trump told reporters late Friday night that, "We pretty much have a deal," on TikTok. The details and timing of a potential deal are not clear. TikTok did not immediately respond to messages for comment on Monday. For now, TikTok continues to function for its 170 million users in the U.S. Tech giants Apple, Google and Oracle were persuaded to continue to offer and support the app, on the promise that Trump's Justice Department would not use the law to seek potentially steep fines against them.
By FATIMA HUSSEIN, AAMER MADHANI and SARAH PARVINI Associated Press
President Donald Trump says he is signing an executive order to keep TikTok running in the U.S. for another 75 days. That gives his administration more time to broker a deal to bring the social media platform under American ownership. The order was announced as White House officials believed they were nearing a deal for the app's operations to be spun off into a new company based in the U.S. and owned and operated by a majority of American investors, with China's ByteDance maintaining a minority position. That's according to a person familiar with the negotiations who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks. The person added that China hit the brakes after Trump announced wide-ranging tariffs.
In less than a month, TikTok could have one or a few new owners, be banned again, or simply receive another reprieve to continue operating in the U.S. Questions about the fate of the popular app has continued to linger since a law requiring its China-based parent company to divest or face a ban took effect on Jan. 19. After taking office, President Donald Trump gave the company a 75-day reprieve through an executive order. Trump told reporters on Sunday that a deal could over TikTok come soon. He did not offer any details on the interested buyers, But said the administration was in talks with "four different groups" about TikTok and that "all four are good."
China is accusing the United States of spreading disinformation and suppressing TikTok following reports that the Biden administration was calling for its Chinese owners to sell their stakes in the popular video-sharing app. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin says the U.S. has yet to present evidence that TikTok threatens its national security. Wang told reporters at a daily briefing Thursday that the U.S. was using the excuse of data security to abuse its power to suppress foreign companies. TikTok was dismissive Wednesday of a report in The Wall Street Journal that said the U.S. Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment was threatening a U.S. ban on the app unless its Beijing-based owner ByteDance Ltd. divested.
