After more than a year of tense negotiations, political showdowns, and public uncertainty, the future of TikTok in the United States appears to be taking a decisive turn. On September 16, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. and China had reached an agreement allowing the wildly popular video-sharing app to continue operating in America — but under a new, American-dominated ownership structure. According to Reuters, the deal represents a significant breakthrough in the ongoing trade and technology standoff between the world’s two largest economies, with both sides making notable concessions to reach a compromise.
At the heart of the matter is TikTok’s proprietary algorithm — the secret sauce that powers its addictive, endlessly personalized video feed. For months, the fate of this algorithm was a major sticking point. Chinese law restricts the sale of such technology abroad, and U.S. officials have long voiced national security concerns, warning that the algorithm could be manipulated by Beijing to influence American users or siphon off sensitive data. Yet, according to Wang Jingtao, deputy director of China’s Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, there is now consensus on authorizing the use of TikTok’s algorithm by the American entity that will take over the platform’s U.S. operations. As Wang stated to reporters in Madrid, both sides have agreed on “the use of intellectual property rights such as TikTok’s algorithm,” as well as entrusting a partner with handling U.S. user data and content security.
While the broad strokes of the deal are now public, many details remain under wraps. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the commercial terms had “in essence, been done since around March,” with only a few details left to finalize. The deal’s objective, Bessent said, is to “switch to American ownership” and ensure “proper safeguards for U.S. national security.” According to sources cited by Reuters and The Wall Street Journal, ByteDance — TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company — will retain a 19.9% stake in the new U.S. entity, just under the critical 20% threshold. The remaining 80% will be held by a consortium including ByteDance’s current shareholders, such as Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic, and KKR, along with new investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Oracle Corp.
Oracle, the U.S. software giant, is expected to play a pivotal role in the new structure, likely maintaining its existing cloud deal with TikTok and taking a direct stake in the platform’s American operations. The new U.S. entity will feature an American-dominated board, with at least one member designated by the U.S. government, echoing recent national security agreements in other high-profile cross-border deals. As reported by Reuters, the complex transaction is expected to close within 30 to 45 days from the September 16 announcement, with a final confirmation anticipated after a call between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 19.
The deal is not just about business; it’s a political balancing act. President Trump, who once sought to ban TikTok outright during his first term, has since reversed course, crediting the platform with helping him win over young voters in the 2024 election. “We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it. And you know, the kids want it so badly,” Trump told reporters, according to Al Jazeera. “I had parents calling me up. They don’t want it for themselves, they want it for their kids. They say, if I don’t get it done, they are in big trouble with their kids. And I think it’s great. I hate to see value like that thrown out the window.”
Yet, the road to this agreement was anything but smooth. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed into law in 2024 during the Biden administration, required ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a ban. The initial deadline was January 2025, but President Trump, after returning to office, repeatedly extended it — most recently to December 16, 2025. Critics, such as Ryan Calo, co-director of the Tech Policy Lab at the University of Washington, have argued that the Trump administration’s “own timetable” for reaching a deal has flouted the process outlined by Congress, calling it “a blow to the rule of law, among many.”
On the Chinese side, reactions have been cautiously optimistic. China’s official People’s Daily praised the deal as “cooperation for mutual benefit,” emphasizing Beijing’s commitment to “safeguarding national interests and the legitimate rights of Chinese enterprises.” The newspaper added that China would “lawfully process matters such as technology export approvals and intellectual property licensing rights related to TikTok.” Still, some experts, like Yan Liang, an economics professor at Willamette University, questioned what China would get in return for agreeing to such a significant divestiture, suggesting that Beijing must have secured meaningful concessions from Washington.
For TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users — a staggering number by any metric — the platform remains online and largely unchanged for now. Tech giants Apple, Google, and Oracle have continued to support the app, reassured by the Trump administration’s promise not to pursue steep fines as long as negotiations continued. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, American opinions on TikTok are sharply divided: about one-third support a ban (down from 50% in March 2023), another third oppose it, and the remainder are unsure. Among those favoring a ban, the primary concern is the security of user data and the risk of Beijing accessing or manipulating it.
Despite the political wrangling and legal maneuvering, TikTok’s core technology — its algorithm — remains a focal point of debate. U.S. lawmakers, especially on the House Select Committee on China, have insisted that any deal must fully sever the algorithm from Chinese control. As one committee spokesperson put it, “It wouldn’t be in compliance if the algorithm is Chinese. There can’t be any shared algorithm with ByteDance.” Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi added, “Underpinning all of our concerns is the Chinese Communist Party’s access to American data.”
Meanwhile, some legal experts, like Anupam Chander of Georgetown Law, warn that the new ownership structure could bring its own set of challenges, including the potential for political influence over TikTok’s content. “I think it’s also fair for TikTok users in the U.S. to wonder if we will see our TikTok content change to reflect the views of TikTok’s new owners, who may have a friendly relationship with the current Administration,” Chander told Al Jazeera.
As the December 16 deadline approaches, all eyes are on Washington and Beijing to see whether the deal will close as planned — and whether TikTok’s addictive scroll will remain a fixture in American life, or become the latest casualty of the U.S.-China rivalry. For now, at least, the platform’s fate seems more secure than it has in years, but the story is far from over.
