WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order clearing the way for TikTok to continue operating in the United States under new American ownership, saying Chinese President Xi Jinping has approved the proposed framework.
The deal, still in progress, would spin TikTok into a U.S. joint venture controlled by investors including Oracle, Silver Lake Partners, Rupert Murdoch, and Dell founder Michael Dell. U.S. investors are expected to hold about 80 per cent of the venture, while ByteDance would retain a stake of 20 per cent or less and a single, limited board seat.
Trump said the arrangement balances national security with the app’s popularity, particularly among younger Americans. “Young people really wanted this to happen,” Trump said at the signing ceremony. Vice President J.D. Vance added the deal would allow TikTok users to “use it with more confidence than they had in the past.”
The new U.S. TikTok would rely on a licensed version of ByteDance’s algorithm, retrained exclusively with American user data — a move the White House says eliminates risks of Chinese influence.
The Chinese embassy did not immediately confirm Xi’s sign-off. Beijing had once blasted the forced divestment as “robbery,” but analysts say TikTok has become an expendable concession amid broader U.S.-China trade talks.
TikTok is the top news source for nearly half of U.S. adults under 30, according to Pew Research, underscoring its cultural and political reach. Analysts warn any shifts in ownership or algorithm performance could reshape how Americans engage with the app.
The Biden administration had previously legislated that ByteDance divest TikTok’s U.S. assets or face a ban. Trump’s repeated executive orders have extended the app’s operations while negotiations continued.
Whether users notice major changes remains uncertain. “Social media is just as much about the culture as it is the technology,” said Jasmine Enberg of eMarketer. “How users adapt to a U.S.-owned TikTok is still an open question.”