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Trump TikTok deal: Who might own the app and how would it work? Trump TikTok deal: Who might own the app and how would it work?
(about 1 hour later)
President Donald Trump says a deal to find a new owner for TikTok in the United States is done. President Donald Trump says a deal to find a new owner for social media app TikTok in the United States is done.
The future of the app and access to it for people in the US was plunged into uncertainty. Politicians passed a law requiring TikTok to be banned in the country unless it was sold by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. US politicians passed a law in 2024 banning the app in the country unless it was sold by its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
But Trump vowed to save it, and since his inauguration he has delayed deadlines for TikTok's sale and dropped names of companies and celebrities who could buy it. Trump vowed to save TikTok, and had previously suggested a number of potential buyers before the latest announcement, which has yet to be confirmed by ByteDance or the Chinese authorities.
Now his administration has given details of how it says the sale will work - though they have yet to be confirmed by China.
Here's what we know about the future of TikTok in the US.
Why did the US want to ban TikTok?Why did the US want to ban TikTok?
Before we get to what will happen next, a reminder of how we got here. For years US officials and lawmakers have argued that ByteDance's links to the Chinese government threaten national security.
US officials and lawmakers have for years accused ByteDance of being linked to the Chinese government. Many feared Beijing could force ByteDance to hand over data about its US users - thought to number 170 million.
Many have cited national security concerns over the app, claiming that it could be forced by Beijing to hand over data about its US users, who number 170 million, according to TikTok. TikTok and ByteDance reject that criticism, but similar concerns have prompted bans and restrictions in other countries around the world.
TikTok and ByteDance deny that - nonetheless similar concerns have also prompted bans and restrictions in other countries around the world.
Is TikTok really a danger to the West?Is TikTok really a danger to the West?
In April 2024, US Congress passed a bill, which President Joe Biden signed into law, giving ByteDance nine months to find a US-approved buyer or see TikTok shut down across the US. In April 2024, US Congress passed a bill - signed into law by former President Joe Biden - giving ByteDance nine months to find a US-approved buyer or see TikTok shut down.
TikTok filed multiple unsuccessful legal challenges against the law, calling it "unconstitutional" and claiming it would have a "staggering" impact on free speech by censoring its US users. TikTok called the law "unconstitutional" and claimed that censoring its US users would have a "staggering" impact on free speech. It launched several unsuccessful legal challenges.
Trump was then elected - and the search for a new owner began, helped by the initial deadline being repeatedly extended. ByteDance insisted it had no plans to sell.
What deal has been announced - and how will it work? After Trump took office in January 2025, he extended that initial deadline to allow the search for the app's new owners to continue. The president has pushed the deadline back several more times to allow a deal to be done.
President Trump's TikTok deal will see TikTok's algorithm - the technology that determines what users see in their feed - copied and retrained on US user data, according to White House officials. What is the TikTok deal - and how will it work?
A new recommendation system, which has been viewed as the most valuable part of the app, will be audited by US tech giant Oracle, and operated by a new joint venture involving US investors in order to meet requirements for the app's sale. Trump's TikTok deal will see US investors take over the app's operations in the country.
Oracle already stores TikTok's American user data on its US-based servers as part of an existing agreement designed to ease lawmaker's security concerns. They will control the algorithm which powers the US version of TikTok, and Americans will hold six of the seven seats on the board of directors which will oversee it.
But the company will now secure the entirety of the US version of TikTok - inspecting and re-developing its algorithm on content and data shared by US users. The algorithm is the technology which determines what users see in their feed, and is seen as the most valuable - and controversial - part of the app.
The government believes this is enough to meet the requirements for a sale of the app set out by the 2024 law. Under the deal, the American TikTok will use a new algorithm which will be based on the existing version, but retrained on US user data, according to White House officials.
Private equity firm Silver Lake, which has investments in companies including Manchester City football club owners City Football Group, was revealed to also be involved in the deal. This will be overseen by the US tech giant Oracle. The firm's co-founder Larry Ellison is a close ally of US President Donald Trump.
White House officials said the new joint venture controlling the app would be seeking patriotic investors and board members experienced in cybersecurity to oversee its operations. Oracle already stores TikTok's American user data on its US-based servers as part of an existing agreement, and this will continue.
A huge range of public figures ranging from OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely to star YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson - AKA MrBeast - have been touted as potential investors in the past. White House officials say this arrangement meets the requirements for the sale of TikTok that were set out in the 2024 law and, therefore, ensures the social media app can continue operating in the US.
President Trump has said that the plans were approved by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a call on 19 September. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison is one of the richest men in the world
ByteDance and TikTok have not commented on the deal but in a statement thanked Xi and Trump "for their efforts to preserve TikTok in the United States". The White House has also identified private equity firm Silver Lake as another investor. It has a stake in the City Football Group, which owns Manchester City football club.
White House outlines TikTok deal that would give US control of algorithm It is understood that officials have said the new joint venture controlling the app is seeking "patriotic" investors.
What has China said? A huge range of public figures ranging from OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely to star YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson - AKA MrBeast - were previously touted as potential partners.
Beijing has been much more guarded than Washington. What have TikTok and ByteDance said about the deal?
"The Chinese government respects the wishes of the enterprise, and welcomes it to carry out commercial negotiations in accordance with market rules to reach a solution compliant with China's laws and regulations, and strikes a balance of interests," it said on Saturday. ByteDance and TikTok have not commented publicly on the deal.
It is unlikely that TikTok's parent company would sell its prize app without the blessing of the Chinese government. But in a statement earlier in September, ByteDance thanked Xi and Trump "for their efforts to preserve TikTok in the United States".
In the US version of the app, a White House official said ByteDance would make up less than 20% of its new ownership under a "qualified divestiture". What has China said about the TikTok deal?
A White House official said they expected China to start taking steps to make the deal happen. President Trump said that the deal was approved by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a call on 19 September.
These would include issuing an export license for TikTok's algorithm - once Trump has signed an executive order to institute a 120-day pause to the law's deadline for a sale or ban. But Beijing has been much more guarded than Washington.
Trump has said he would meet Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, scheduled to begin at the end of October in South Korea. "The Chinese government respects the wishes of the enterprise, and welcomes it to carry out commercial negotiations in accordance with market rules to reach a solution compliant with China's laws and regulations, and strikes a balance of interests," it said after Trump's announcement.
Analysts believe it is extremely unlikely that TikTok's parent company would sell its prize app without Beijing's blessing.
The Chinese government is expected to issue an export license for the TikTok algorithm in due course.
Trump also said he would discuss the deal with Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea at the end of October.
What's in the TikTok deal for China?What's in the TikTok deal for China?
What does it mean for US TikTok users? What does the deal mean for US TikTok users?
Watch: Can young Americans live without TikTok?Watch: Can young Americans live without TikTok?
According to TikTok, its US users spent 51 minutes per day on average on the app in 2024.According to TikTok, its US users spent 51 minutes per day on average on the app in 2024.
When it looked like it might go dark in the US, experts said rivals such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts stood to benefit. When the bill was announced, many US creators who earn their living on the app told the BBC its loss would be devastating.
But even if the sale goes ahead it's not guaranteed TikTok will enjoy the same success as in the past. In March 2024, TikTok urged its users to contact their political representatives to complain. Some lawmakers said the lobbying campaign had actually reinforced their concerns about the app.
"The real question has always been whether the algorithm would come with the sale, and it looks like it sort of will," said Kelsey Chickering, an analyst at market research company Forrester. Experts predicted that video-sharing rivals such as Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and another Chinese app, RedNote, would benefit if TikTok was banned.
But given that algorithm is set to be retrained on US user data, Ms Chickering said TikTok's recommendation engine was likely to feel different to users - and that could be a "sticking point". But even if its future in the US has been secured, there is no guarantee that users will decide to stick with the new version of the app.
"Given the potential players involved in this deal, if the algorithmic scales tip too far toward one political direction, it could send many current TikTok users to other platforms - just like we saw happen with Twitter/X," she said. "The jury's out on whether this new, US-only, app will be a true replicate of the old one, with just as powerful of an algorithm and experience," said Kelsey Chickering, from market research company Forrester.
"The jury's out on whether this new, US-only, app will be a true replicate of the old one, with just as powerful of an algorithm and experience." Additional reporting by Lily Jamali
Additional reporting by Tom Gerken & Imran Rahman-Jones