WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that would allow Tiktok to continue his activities in the United States in a way that meets national security concerns set out by law.
President Joe Biden signed law Last year, China’s ordinance called for the sale of Tiktok’s assets to American companies or face bans by the beginning of this year, but Trump repeatedly signed an order that allowed Tiktok to continue operating in the US once Tiktok has reached an agreement to sell the company.
There are a lot Not yet unknown Regarding the actual deal in the film, however, Trump said Thursday that Chinese leader Xi Jinpaku-yeong had agreed to proceed. However, the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to the Associated Press investigation, seeking to confirm that China has officially signed the proposed framework deal.
The executive order itself is a declaration by the president that the proposed transaction will meet legal security concerns. It also gives all parties involved in the negotiation a further 120 days from the impact of the law to finalize the transaction.
Young people in particular “we really wanted this,” Trump said at the signing ceremony.
A major change to popular video platforms could have a major impact on the way Americans, especially young adults and teenagers, consume information online.
According to a report by the Pew Research Center, around 43% of US adults under the age of 30 say they receive news from Tiktok, which is higher than any other social media app, including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Released on Thursday.
The Tiktok logo was painted in Tokyo on September 28th, 2020.
Trump responded to questions at the signature ceremony on Thursday and said that if he felt he could do it, he would make America’s managed Tiktok “100% Maga,” but he intended “all philosophy, all policies” to be “treated correctly.”
Vice President JD Vance said the deal ensures that “US investors actually control the algorithm” that determines what content will be seen on social media apps. He said more information about the transaction will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Manage your new Tiktok venture
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Under the terms of the transaction so far revealed by the White House, the app will be spun into a new joint venture owned by a consortium of American investors, including Oracle and investment company Silver Lake Partners.
Details have not been finalized yet, but the investment group’s control over the new venture will be around 80%. Bytedance is expected to benefit from new ventures, but it will be under 20%. This is part of the ownership for foreign investors. The board running the new platform is managed by US investors. The ordinance is represented by one of the board of directors, but the individual is excluded from security-related issues.
The new owners of Tiktok include many owners whose business or political interests are tied to Trump, such as Oracle co-founders Larry Ellison and Rupert Murdoch, raising questions about whether political influences will have on the platform.
He resigned as Oracle CEO over a decade ago, but Ellison is deeply involved as chairman and chief technology officer. Now 81, he may be lined up to become a behind-the-scenes media power player and already supports the funds Skydance’s merger with Paramount has recently been completeda deal designed by son David.
Trump also said Dell founder Michael Dell will become an investor in the new venture.
The exterior of Oracle Corp. is depicted in Redwood, California, June 26, 2007 (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
Tiktok users say: David Greene, director of civil liberties at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “It’s not 100% Maga. The question is how do you deal with criticism of him and the people he likes.”
What we know about the algorithms that drive t
He is a platform
The recommended algorithm that led millions of users to an endless stream of video shorts was central to the security debate over Tiktok. China previously maintained that algorithms must be under Chinese control by law. However, US regulations passed with bipartisan support by Congress said the sale of Tiktok must mean that platform ties reduce ties with the ordinance.
American officials have previously warned that algorithms (a complex system of rules and calculations that the platform uses to provide content to feeds) are vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, but there is no evidence presented by US authorities that suggest that China had tried to do so.
Details remain unknown, but the executive order said that a licensed copy of the algorithm created by Bytedance (retrying with US data only) will give power to the new US version of the app. The joint venture manages and monitors code and all content modification decisions. Administration officials say retraining will negate the risk of interference and impact in China.
Vance said he “want to run Tiktok,” but addressed security concerns, saying “Americans can use Tiktok, but they can use it more confidently than they had in the past.”
It is unclear whether the US version of Tiktok will be a different experience than what other users around the world are used to. Significant changes to social media platform services increase the risk of alienating viewers, according to Jasmine Enberg, an analyst at research firm Emarketer.
A classic example of how control changes can rebuild once popular social media platforms, billionaire Elon Musk sparked a backlash almost immediately after completing his Twitter acquisition almost three years ago.
However, Musk has made some very visible changes, such as renaming X, pulling back content moderation, and adding exclusive features for paid subscribers. The changes that gradually occur while different data are being fed into US copies of Tiktok’s algorithms can be inconspicuous to most viewers.
“Social media is just as much about culture as technology, how users address new ownership and potentially new versions of the app is still an open question,” Enberg said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent will speak after Attorney General Pam Bondy and Vice President J.D. Vance will be speaking after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tiktok in his elliptical office in Washington on Thursday, September 25th, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Motivated by China to carry out this transaction
Beijing once called for demands from its Chinese parent company to spin “robbery,” but Chinese officials changed their songs as the US-China trade war progressed.
Sang Yun, director of the China program at Washington-based think tank Stimson Center, said the Tiktok deal will allow China to roll the ball in trade negotiations. “Tictok alone does not compare the importance of friendly US-China relations with the positive momentum that prevents many negative developments from occurring.”
Dimiter Guergiev, an associate professor of political science at Syracuse University, argues that Beijing can increase self-sufficiency in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing industries, as it is interested in maintaining access to US technology and services, at least in the short term.
“That’s the forefront of the technological competition,” Gueorguiev said. “In contrast, Tiktok is a mature consumer app with reduced strategic weight.”
