TikTok’s future in the United States appears secure after President Donald Trump announced an agreement with China that would allow the video-sharing app to keep operating, provided its American assets are transferred to U.S. ownership.
The breakthrough comes just one day before a Sept. 17 deadline to sell or shut down the platform, which boasts 170 million American users. The White House has now extended that deadline to Dec. 16, giving TikTok’s parent company ByteDance 90 days to finalize the deal.
According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the new U.S. entity will be majority-owned and operated by American investors, with ByteDance retaining a 19.9 per cent stake — just under the legal threshold requiring divestiture. The U.S. government will also have a designated board member as part of a national security safeguard.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the commercial terms of the deal have been “largely done since March” with only final details left to work through. CNBC reported the transaction could close within 30 to 45 days and will include participation from ByteDance’s existing U.S. investors such as Susquehanna International Group, KKR, and Sequoia Capital.
The deal had been stalled for months after China signaled it would block the transaction in response to Trump’s new tariffs on Chinese imports. But both countries have now agreed to a framework that officials say balances national security concerns with business continuity.
Oracle will maintain its cloud services partnership with TikTok, continuing to store U.S. user data domestically. Content moderation for American users will also remain U.S.-based, an arrangement designed to reassure lawmakers that the platform’s data is protected from potential Chinese government access.
Trump, who frequently uses TikTok and credits the app with helping boost his re-election campaign, said a final confirmation of the deal is expected during a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.