In an effort to finalize an agreement that would allow the well-known video-sharing app TikTok to continue operating in the United States despite threats of a ban, US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, on Friday.
Trump, who has praised TikTok for helping him gain young followers during the November presidential election, did not provide details on the nature of the deal, but implied he was looking to secure TikTok’s continued use in the US to appeal to young Americans.
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TikTok boasts about 175 million users in the US, making it one of the top five social media apps.
The platform has experienced issues since last year when lawmakers passed legislation to require the platform to sell its shares to the Chinese internet company ByteDance.
Due to security concerns that Beijing might be able to use TikTok’s algorithm to spread Chinese propaganda, both Democrats and Republicans backed the legislation.
There are reports that Trump allies are set to buy the app, a move that could help US conservatives have more influence on young Americans who make up the majority of TikTok users, experts say.
What we are aware of is:
What deal is Trump aiming for?
Following the law passed in April of 2024 that forbids the app from January 19, 2025, it is hoped that a deal will prevent TikTok from being banned in the US unless parent company ByteDance sells a majority stake to non-Chinese owners. Trump should be eager to strike a deal that would allow a group of US investors to instead buy into it.
Details are still unclear, but the deal was agreed in Madrid on Monday, during trade talks between Chinese and US representatives.
Trump is now calling Xi Jinping on Friday to confirm that statement.
Technically speaking, the Chinese company technically imposed a sales ban on January 19 because it refused to do so by the deadline. However, Trump’s government has not yet enforced it, with the president extending the deadline several times.
Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that once more extended the deadline for bans until December 16.
According to US media outlets including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, according to sources with knowledge of the deal, Beijing and Washington will likely control 80% of TikTok, while China will control 20%, including ByteDance, according to a source with knowledge of the agreement.
Trump, who first moved to ban TikTok during his first term as president, due to similar security concerns, has softened his stance towards the app in his second term. In the run-up to the November election, the US president said American investors are willing to invest in the app. TikTok is credited with attracting young voters to his campaign.
“We have a group of significant corporations looking to purchase it,” the statement read. And you know, the kids want it so badly”, Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
“My parents called me up,” I recall. They want it for their children, not for themselves. They say, if I don’t get it done, they are in big trouble with their kids. And I think it’s fantastic. Trump continued, “I detest to see value like that being thrown out the window.”
Who are the US investors wanting to buy TikTok?
According to experts, the agreement will help establish Trump as the “president who saved TikTok” in the US. They also warn that TikTok might still be used to defame Americans under Trump’s administration.
At least two of Trump’s closest billionaire allies are reported to be part of those whose companies are looking to buy the app: billionaire Marc Andreessen, cofounder of Silicon Valley venture capitalist firm Andreessen Horowitz, and Larry Ellison, the billionaire cofounder of tech firm Oracle.
Andreessen and his business partner Ben Horowitz each donated $2.5 million to Trump’s campaign during the presidential election of 2024.
Ellison, who is one of the richest men in the world and has a $362 billion fortune, is even more close to Trump. The US president said in January that he would be open to Ellison buying the app. The White House selected tech company Oracle, with a headquarters in Austin, Texas, to host TikTok data in the US, according to a Reuters news report from January.
Ellison’s control of significant US media channels would be strengthened by taking over TikTok. In August, his son, David Ellison, took over ownership of media conglomerate Paramount Skydance, which counts news and entertainment broadcaster CBS as one of its companies.
According to media expert Marc Owen Jones, there are legitimate concerns about whether Washington might have access to TikTok data in the US under Trump, and that the deal should concern those who identify as politically left.
According to Jones, “Trump is all about himself in many ways, so essentially he is getting this deal as well,” according to Jones, “because he is also getting a media empire that will be run by Trump-friendly allies who are likely to ensure that this platform is not going to steer too far to the left.”
How has China reacted to the proposed deal?
Beijing wanted trade and technology concessions in exchange for the TikTok divestment, according to US officials present at the Madrid trade talks, but it’s not clear what Washington agreed to.
Many Chinese people believe that the US app’s proposed ban on Chinese businesses is unfair and discriminatory. TikTok is banned in China, while the local version, Douyin, is in use, but Chinese people have often voiced pride in the app’s worldwide popularity.
Some residents of Beijing expressed their support for a deal that will be reached on Friday with Washington to keep TikTok online in the US, as they reported to Al Jazeera on the streets this week.
In light of President Trump’s ongoing trade war and the rising geopolitical tensions relating to China’s growing influence on the global stage, some also expressed hope that the agreement will improve relations between the two superpowers.
China has consistently denied claims by US lawmakers that Beijing pressures apps like TikTok to collect personal information for the state.
Beijing has also criticized the US government’s efforts to compel the sale of the app. The Chinese government issued a strong rebuke of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in Congress in March 2023, claiming it would never force businesses to mine data.
Does China pose a security threat to the US via apps like TikTok?
The US’s security concerns are legitimate, according to experts.
According to Australian Strategic Policy Institute analyst Fergus Ryan, “there really is no firewall between the data that tech firms have access to and that the Chinese Communist Party and the state itself can access,” according to Fergus Ryan.
What makes TikTok so well-known in the US?
Young Americans have a lot of interest in the social media app, both as a news source and as an entertainment source. About 59 percent of Americans under 30 use the app, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center, with those aged between 13 and 17 being the biggest group of daily users.
The app is also increasingly popular with US adults over the age of 30, with usage rising from 21 percent to 33 percent between 2021 and 2023. About a third of American adults claim to use TikTok overall.
Increasingly, TikTok is also a platform on which businesses can reach potential customers as they leverage partnerships with influential TikTok stars for advertisements.
With 15.2 million users on Trump’s own account, the app has grown to be a necessary tool for politicians to reach young people as well.
Source: Aljazeera
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