Trump says US has a buyer for TikTok
This photograph taken in Mulhouse, eastern France on Oct 19, 2023, shows the logo of the social media video sharing app Tik Tok reflected in mirrors. (File photo: AFP/Sebastien Bozon)
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Sep 16) that the US and China have a deal that would keep the short-video app TikTok operating in the United States, transferring its US assets to US owners from China's ByteDance, potentially resolving a saga that has lingered for nearly a year.
A deal on the popular social media app, which counts 170 million US users, stands as a breakthrough in months-long talks between the world's No 1 and No 2 economies that have sought to defuse a wide-ranging trade war that has unnerved global markets.
"We have a deal on TikTok ... We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it," Trump said at a White House briefing, without providing further details. The announcement came a day before a Sep 17 deadline to sell or shut down the app. Later in the day, the White House extended that deadline until Dec 16, giving ByteDance another 90 days to finalise an agreement.
The new US entity will have an American-dominated board, with one member designated by the government, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Any agreement could require approval by the Republican-controlled Congress, which passed a law in 2024 during the Biden Administration that required divestiture due to fears that TikTok's US user data could be accessed by the Chinese government, allowing Beijing to spy on Americans or conduct influence operations through the app.
The Trump administration has repeatedly declined to enforce a law requiring the app to shut down due to worries it would anger the app's millions of users and disrupt political communications, instead extending the divestiture deadline on three separate occasions.
Trump has credited the app with helping him win re-election last year, and his personal account has 15 million followers. The White House launched an official TikTok account last month.
Three sources familiar with the matter said the deal was similar to one discussed earlier this year, with ByteDance keeping the single largest ownership stake at 19.9 per cent – just under the 20 per cent threshold set by law.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC the commercial terms of the deal had been largely completed since March with just a few details left. "This deal wouldn't be done without proper safeguards for US national security," Bessent said. "It seems as though we were also able to meet the Chinese interest."
CNBC reported Tuesday that the deal is expected to be closed within the next 30 to 45 days, and that the agreement will include existing investors in TikTok's China-based parent ByteDance and new investors. Reuters has not independently verified that report.
Details of the deal from the CNBC report line up with Reuters reporting from April.
A deal had been in the works in the spring. It would have spun off TikTok's US operations into a new US-based firm, majority-owned and operated by US investors, but was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.
Washington has maintained that TikTok's ownership by ByteDance makes it beholden to the Chinese government and Beijing could use the app to collect data on Americans.
The company has said US officials have misstated its ties to China, arguing its content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the US on cloud servers operated by Oracle while content moderation decisions that affect American users are also made in the US.
Oracle will keep its cloud deal with TikTok, CNBC reported. Oracle shares pared some gains after the announcement and were last up about 1 per cent.
A framework agreement was reached by officials from both countries on Monday, marking a breakthrough after months of intense talks. The White House has been involved to an unprecedented level in the closely watched deal talks.
Amid escalating trade tensions, US and China delegations discussed the divestment as part of broader disputes over tariffs and tech export control regulations.
A final confirmation on the deal is expected on Friday in a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Several suitors, including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, a startup run by the OnlyFans founder and Amazon had expressed interest in the fast-growing business that analysts estimate could be worth as much as US$50 billion.
