Trump's TikTok agreement with China is similar to one worked out earlier this year - sources

Trump's TikTok agreement with China is similar to one worked out earlier this year - sources

U.S. President Donald Trump announced an agreement with China on Tuesday to keep TikTok operating in the United States, a deal that mirrors one discussed earlier this year. The agreement involves transferring TikTok's American assets to U.S. owners from ByteDance, the Chinese parent company.

The deal, which was in the works in the spring, was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods. The proposed agreement would spin off TikTok's U.S. operations into a new company based in the U.S. and majority-owned and operated by U.S. investors .

The basic terms of the new deal, similar to the one discussed earlier this year, include ByteDance keeping the single largest ownership stake at 19.9%, just under the law's 20% threshold. This stake ensures compliance with the law passed by Congress in 2024, which required TikTok's divestiture due to fears that its U.S. user data could be accessed by the Chinese government .

The White House has extended the deadline for TikTok to divest its U.S. assets until December 16, giving ByteDance an additional 75 days to finalize the agreement. The U.S. entity will likely have an American-dominated board, with one member designated by the U.S. government .

The agreement comes amid a broader trade war between the U.S. and China, which has unnerved global markets. The deal represents a breakthrough in months-long talks between the two economies to defuse the trade war. Li Chenggang, China's international trade representative, noted that the two sides have reached a "basic framework consensus" to solve TikTok-related issues cooperatively and reduce investment barriers .

Critics of the ban have argued that it infringes on US free speech rights and fails to address privacy concerns surrounding social media platforms in general. Ryan Calo, co-director of the Tech Policy Lab at the University of Washington, told Al Jazeera that striking a deal to preserve TikTok in the U.S. is a win from this perspective .

However, the deal also raises questions about potential political influence over TikTok's content. Anupam Chander, an expert in law and technology at Georgetown Law, noted that many Americans have been concerned that changes in ownership might alter the platform's content and politics .

The future of TikTok, which claims more than 170 million users in the U.S., has been in the balance since lawmakers in Washington last year passed legislation to force the platform to divest from its Chinese ownership. The deal announced by Trump on Tuesday aims to resolve this saga and keep the popular social media app operating in the U.S.