President Donald Trump said Friday he has struck a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping to keep TikTok operational in the United States, easing months of uncertainty surrounding the app’s future but raising new questions about how national security concerns will be resolved.
Trump described a “very productive call” with Xi, writing on his social media platform that the two leaders made progress on “many very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal.” He added that they would speak again by phone and meet face-to-face at the APEC summit in South Korea beginning October 31.
While Trump suggested Xi had approved a takeover plan, details remain murky. Reports in The Wall Street Journal said U.S. users would be migrated to a new version of TikTok using technology licensed from its Beijing-based parent, ByteDance. Oracle would manage U.S. user data at its Texas cloud facilities, with American investors owning about 80% of the new U.S. entity and Chinese shareholders retaining the rest.
Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder and Trump ally, looms large in the deal. Ellison, the world’s second-richest man, is already preparing a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery after his Paramount takeover, further entrenching him in the intersection of politics, tech, and media.
At a Thursday news conference, Trump called TikTok “tremendously valuable,” adding: “I’d rather reap the benefits. The kind of money we are talking about is very substantial. It will be owned by all American investors.”
He also hinted the U.S. would collect a “fee-plus” for making the deal possible, though the structure of such a payment remains unclear.
TikTok, with more than 170 million American users, thanked both leaders for their efforts. ByteDance said it would “work in accordance with applicable laws to ensure TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok U.S.”
China’s official line was more restrained. Xinhua quoted Xi as saying Beijing “respects the wishes of companies and welcomes them to conduct commercial negotiations based on market rules and reach solutions that comply with Chinese laws and regulations and balance interests.”
The White House declined to comment on the exact terms.
From Ban Threats to Deal-Making
The announcement caps years of back-and-forth over TikTok’s presence in America. In his first term, Trump had pushed to ban the app outright over fears that ByteDance could be compelled to hand U.S. user data to Beijing. His administration even pursued a forced sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations, but court challenges stalled the effort.
President Biden reignited the pressure last year, signing a law requiring ByteDance to divest its American operations or face a nationwide ban. ByteDance had been staring down a January 19 deadline, later extended by Trump to December 16, as talks continued.
Trump’s reversal this time around is partly political. He has openly credited TikTok with helping him win the 2024 presidential election, having courted younger voters by pledging to keep the platform alive.
Industry and Legal Skepticism
Skepticism persists. Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said the deal leaves “too many loose ends and too many things that could go awry” to fully reassure Congress.
Analysts also question whether migrating U.S. users to a new version of the app managed by Oracle will truly sever risks of Chinese influence, or whether ByteDance’s retained ownership could leave open back channels.
Columbia Business School professor Daniel Keum noted that many content creators have already diversified to Instagram and YouTube amid TikTok’s uncertain status, suggesting the deal may not substantially change user behavior in the short run.
What Happens Next?
Trump may tout the deal as both a political and economic win, especially among younger voters and U.S. investors. But Congress, which has grown increasingly hawkish on China, may still press for stricter guarantees on data security and content moderation.
The arrangement, if finalized, could become a blueprint for how Washington handles foreign-owned platforms — mandating local ownership and domestic data management. That precedent could ripple into other sectors, especially as tensions with China deepen over AI and semiconductors.
Beijing has signaled it is willing to compromise without fully ceding control by allowing a deal but retaining some Chinese ownership. The move could give Xi a bargaining chip in wider U.S.-China negotiations, particularly as trade disputes and AI competition intensify.
However, even with a deal, the platform’s long-term dominance is less certain. Creators hedging their bets with Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts may erode TikTok’s cultural monopoly, forcing the company to invest heavily to keep its U.S. base engaged.
