President Donald Trump on Thursday announced an agreement that will pave the way for social media giant TikTok to come under the control of a group of U.S. investors.
The move comes months after a ban on the China-based app was set to take effect at the outset of this year. Instead, Trump delayed the ban multiple times and appears poised to secure the popular platform for domestic ownership.
Scrutiny has centered on the fate of TikTok’s algorithm, a proprietary formula that fuels the attention-grabbing social media platform. Vice President J.D. Vance, who stood alongside Trump during the Oval Office announcement, said the agreement would bring the algorithm “under the control of American investors,” adding that further details would be unveiled over the coming days.
“This deal really does mean Americans can use TikTok but actually use it with more confidence than they had in the past because their data is secure and it won’t be used as a propaganda weapon like it has in the past,” Vance said.
The U.S.-based version of TikTok will be valued at $14 billion, Vance said.
The agreement received approval from Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said. As of Thursday afternoon, China had not publicly confirmed the terms issued by the Trump administration.
Trump said tech giant Oracle would be among the U.S. investors in TikTok, but he did not disclose the full roster of new owners.
Congress passed the ban last spring with overwhelming bipartisan support, granting TikTok a 270-day window to cut its ties with China-based parent company ByteDance or face a ban.
Instead of initiating a sale, TikTok pursued a legal challenge on First Amendment grounds that failed in the Supreme Court.
The unanimous ruling from the nation’s highest court found merit in national security concerns regarding potential user data collection or content manipulation that the Chinese government might undertake.
The app became temporarily unavailable in January, before the Trump administration assured app store owners Google and Apple that law enforcement would not pursue potential violations of the law.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
