Donald Trump on Tuesday announced an agreement between the U.S. and China to keep TikTok operating in the United States.
The deal requires that TikTok’s American assets be transferred to U.S. owners from Chinese company ByteDance.
“We have a deal on TikTok. We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,” Trump said.
The initial deadline for the deal was September 17. The White House has extended the date to December 17, giving ByteDance another three months to finalize the transfer of American assets to American owners.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said negotiators remain “very focused on TikTok and making sure that it was a deal that is fair for the Chinese” but also “completely respects U.S. national security concerns.”
Wang Jingtao, deputy director of China’s Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, said there was consensus on authorizing “the use of intellectual property rights such as [TikTok’s] algorithm,” which has been one of the key sticking points in the talks. He added the sides agreed to entrust a partner with handling U.S. user data and content security.
During Joe Biden’s presidency, Congress and the White House approved legislation requiring ByteDance, to sell its controlling stake or face a U.S. ban, citing concerns about Beijing’s access to user data and TikTok’s proprietary algorithm.
Trump, who has repeatedly extended the deadline for a shutdown, has claimed he can delay the ban indefinitely.
Wendy Cutler, senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said it appears “both sides have found a way forward to transfer ownership to a U.S. company.”
“If accurate, this would represent an important step forward in resolving a lingering bilateral dispute,” she said.
