Trump Reassures Americans About TikTok’s Future

On Friday, President Donald Trump reassured the public that the future terms of TikTok in the U.S. would not be dictated by Beijing. He announced an extension regarding the sales or divestment of the app until December 16, while promoting the idea that U.S. investors would take over, although he didn’t directly address concerns about the relationship between TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance.

When asked about potentially accepting a deal to gain control over TikTok’s algorithm, Trump stated that negotiations are ongoing but stressed the importance of U.S. stakeholders establishing the rules. “It’s all working. We have very good control. We have Americans. These are American investors. And they all love our country,” he said.

Trump also took a moment to commend Chinese President Xi Jinping, highlighting what he characterized as a positive relationship. “I want to thank President XI because he was a gentleman. We had just a good relationship and many people here wanted to open it,” he noted, adding that if matters hadn’t been progressing, he might have had more success in various issues, though he did mention that a lot of young Republicans voted for him.

The impending deal is poised to result in TikTok’s U.S. operations being primarily owned by a group of investors led by Oracle, which would decrease ByteDance’s stake to under 20%. Reports suggest that this U.S. coalition includes Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz, along with other investors like KKR and the Atlantic General.

Currently, negotiators are deliberating whether to license ByteDance’s algorithms for U.S. applications or to create a domestic version of the app with its algorithms and data management. Notably, Reuters indicated in July that TikTok had already started developing another app designed for the U.S. market, featuring separate data storage and its own algorithms.