Donald Trump has claimed his administration has reached a deal with China to keep TikTok operating in the US, amid uncertainty over what shape the final agreement will take, with suggestions from the Chinese side that Beijing would retain control of the algorithm that powers the site’s video feed.
“We have a deal on TikTok … We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,” Trump said on Tuesday, without providing further details.
The deal, which was negotiated in Madrid between US treasury secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese vice premier He Lifeng, reportedly see the social media platform transfer its US assets to new US owners from China’s ByteDance.
One of the major questions is the fate of TikTok’s powerful algorithm that helped the app become one of the world’s most popular sources of online entertainment.
At a press conference in Madrid, the deputy head of China’s cyber security regulator said the framework of the deal included “licensing the algorithm and other intellectual property rights”.
Wang Jingtao said ByteDance would “entrust the operation of TikTok’s US user data and content security.”
Some commentators have inferred from these comments that TikTok’s US spinoff will retain the Chinese algorithm.
At arguments in the Supreme Court in January, a lawyer for TikTok ByteDance told the justices how difficult it would be to sell the platform to a US company, because Chinese law restricts the sale of the proprietary algorithm that has made the social media platform wildly successful.
American officials have previously warned the algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect.
TikTok has said that the US never presented evidence that China has attempted to manipulate content on its US platform
The House Select Committee on China says any deal between Beijing and Washington must comply with a law requiring TikTok to be divested from its Chinese ownership or face a ban in the U.S.
“It wouldn’t be in compliance if the algorithm is Chinese. There can’t be any shared algorithm with ByteDance,” said a spokesperson for the House Select Committee on China.
Trump on Tuesday extended a delay on enforcing a ban against TikTok until 16 December, marking the fourth postponement of a law designed to force the app’s sale from its Chinese owner. His latest delay was set to expire on Wednesday, which would have enabled a US law signed in 2024 by then-president Joe Biden to force the closure of TikTok in the United States because of its Chinese ownership.
The legislation was designed to address national security concerns over TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance and its potential ties to the Chinese government.
But Trump, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media and who has said he is fond of TikTok, has continued to delay the the ban.
The app has faced scrutiny from US officials who worry about data collection and content manipulation. TikTok has repeatedly denied sharing user data with Chinese authorities and has challenged various restrictions in federal court.
“We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,” Trump said, adding that he would “hate to see value like that thrown out the window.”
China also confirmed what both sides on Monday called the “framework” of a deal that would be finalized in the phone call between the two leaders.
After Reuters requested comment, a senior White House official said in a statement that details on the framework are “speculation unless they are announced by this administration.“
With Reuters and Agence France-Presse
