The Trump administration says it has made progress in acquiring the social media platform TikTok after a “very productive call” with China’s President Xi Jinping.
“We are 100% confident that a deal is done. Now that deal just needs to be signed, and the president’s team is working with their Chinese counterparts to do just that,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News.
Part of the deal involves controlling the app’s algorithm, which is suspected of pushing controversial or even harmful content to American youth. Over 170 million Americans, mostly Gen Zs and Millennials, use TikTok.
During the 2024 presidential election, Trump earned the highest support from this demographic for any Republican candidate after joining the app.
White House says TikTok deal is on the way.
Texas-based tech giant Oracle will lead the initiative by overseeing data storage and privacy in the United States. Other partners involved in the TikTok takeover include Andreesen Horowitz and Silver Lake.
Americans will also hold six of seven TikTok board seats, and the app must sell most of its U.S. assets to American investors to continue operating in the country.
In April 2024, Congress passed the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, banning the social media app unless it sold 80% of its assets to American investors.
Close to Trump’s inauguration, the app went offline, but resumed operations shortly after the newly inaugurated President extended the ban pending more negotiations.
Meanwhile, TikTok parent company ByteDance has refuted claims that it intends to sell the app under any circumstances.
“Foreign media reports that ByteDance is exploring the sale of TikTok are untrue,” ByteDance told the news aggregations platform Toutiao.
“ByteDance doesn’t have any plan to sell TikTok.”
The tariff war between Washington and Beijing also threatens to derail the deal, potentially resulting in the shutdown of the app’s U.S. operations.
However, Leavitt’s announcement comes after both countries resumed negotiations and hinted at reaching an amicable solution. Nevertheless, China has not confirmed if they had made progress in disposing of one of its iconic applications.
President Trump signs an executive order to take over TikTok.
On Thursday, September 25, 2025, Trump signed an executive order formalizing the deal to take over TikTok. The order will take effect after 120 days to allow stakeholders to iron out the details.
“I spoke with President Xi and he said, ‘Go ahead with it,’” Trump told reporters. “This is going to be American-operated all the way.”
In an unexpected turn of events, U.S. investors will control only 65% of the app’s assets, compared to the mandated 80%. Abu Dhabi royal family’s outfit MGX will also control a 15% stake and have a board seat, while Chinese investors will take the remaining 20%.
The executive order also valued TikTok U.S. at $14 billion, a much lower value than the company’s own valuation of over $100 billion. Even without the algorithm, which is now included in the deal, some financial analysts valued TikTok U.S. at around $50 billion.
Under the new deal, the U.S. will control TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, thus addressing the country’s national security concerns, which were at the heart of the controversy.
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