US President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold talks with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday to finalise a deal that will allow popular video-sharing app Tiktok to continue operations in the US amid the threat of bans.
Commenting Tiktok for helping to gain young followers in the November presidential election, Trump did not provide details on the nature of the deal, but hinted at his attempt to ensure continued use of Tiktok in the US to appeal to young Americans.
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Tiktok boasts around 175 million users in the US, making it one of the top five social media apps.
Still, the platform has been plagued by trouble since last year, when lawmakers passed a law enforced the platform to sell ownership by Chinese internet companies under the Joe Biden administration.
Democrats and Republicans supported the law due to security concerns that Beijing could have access to Tiktok data and could spread Chinese propaganda through Tiktok’s algorithm.
There have been reports that Trump’s allies are planning to purchase the app. This is a move that will help US conservatives have more impact on the younger Americans who make up the majority of Tiktok users, experts say.
Here’s what we know:
What kind of deal does Trump aim to do?
The agreement is expected to allow Tiktok to avoid the US ban following the law banning apps from January 19, 2025, April 2025. Ideally, Trump wants to attack a deal where our group of investors can buy it instead.
Details are still unknown, but the deal was agreed in Madrid on Monday during trade talks between China and US representatives.
Trump is now aiming to confirm the agreement during his call with Xi Jinping on Friday.
The China-based company refused to sell by the January 19th deadline. In other words, the ban is technically enforced. But the Trump administration has not yet implemented it, and the president has extended the deadline several times.
On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order extending the ban until December 16th.
According to US media, including the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, citing people familiar with the deal, the proposed agreement between Beijing and Washington is expected to be controlled by a group of American investors who will control 80% of Tiktok, with the remaining 20% being controlled by Chinese companies, including compensation.
Due to similar security concerns, Trump, who first banned Tiktok during his first term as president, eased his stance on the app in his second term. The US president praised Tiktok for attracting young voters to his campaign in preparation for the presidential election last November, saying American investors are ready to buy the app.
“We have a very large group of companies that want to buy it, and the kids want it badly,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.
“I called my parents and they don’t want that for themselves. They want that for the kids. They say if I don’t get it done, they have big problems with the kids. And I think it’s great.
Who are the US investors who want to buy Tiktok?
Experts say the deal will help solidify Trump as the “president who saved Tiktok” in the US. But they also warn that under Trump’s administration, Tiktok could be used to negatively affect Americans.
At least two of Trump’s closest billionaires allies are reportedly part of the company seeking to buy the app: billionaire Mark Andreesen, co-founder of Silicon Valley venture capitalist Andreesen Horowitz, and Larry Ellison, co-founder of Technology Oral’s billionaire.
In the 2024 presidential election, Andreesen and his business partner Ben Horowitz each donated $2.5 million to Trump’s campaign.
With a fortune of $362 billion and one of the world’s wealthiest men, Ellison is even closer to Trump. The US president said in January that he would be open to Ellison, who will buy the app. Reuters also reported in January that the White House was headquartered in Austin, Texas, to host Tiktok data in the US as part of its initial negotiations with ByteDance.
Taking over Tiktok will further increase Ellison’s influence over key US media channels. In August, his son, David Ellison, took over ownership of Paramount Skydance, a media conglomerate that counts news and entertainment broadcaster CBS as one of the companies.
Media expert Mark Owen Jones told Al Jazeera that there are equally valid concerns about whether Washington will have access to Tiktok data given the rise in US authoritarianism under Trump, adding that the deal should be concerned with Americans identifying it as on the political left.
“Trump is about himself in many ways,” Jones said. “Trump has not only this deal, but a media empire run by essentially Trump-friendly allies.
How did China respond to the proposed deal?
According to US officials who attended trade negotiations in Madrid, Beijing wanted trade and technology concessions in exchange for the sale of Tiktok, but it is unclear what Washington agreed to.
Many Chinese view the proposed ban on US apps as unfair and discriminatory towards Chinese companies. Tiktok is banned in China, but the local version of Douyin is used, but the Chinese have expressed pride in the app’s global popularity.
Speaking to Al Jazeera on the streets of Beijing this week, some residents said they would welcome the contract between Beijing and Washington on Friday to keep Tiktok online.
Others expressed hope that amid the ongoing trade war incited by President Trump, the deal could lead to better relations between the two superpowers, and that amid the existing geopolitical tensions associated with China’s increasing influence on global stages, the deal could lead to better relations between the two superpowers.
China has consistently denied claims by US lawmakers that Beijing puts pressure on apps like Tiktok to collect state personal information.
Beijing also denounced the US government’s attempts to force the app to be sold. When US lawmakers bitten in five hours on their ties with Beijing in March 2023, Tiktok CEO Sho Ji put on a strong responsibilities, claiming that the Chinese government would never mine the data from businesses.
Does China pose security threats to the US via apps like Tiktok?
Experts say US security concerns are effective.
“There is no real firewall between the data that tech companies can access,” said Fergus Ryan, analyst at the Australian Institute of Strategic Policy.
Why is Tiktok so popular in the US?
Social media apps are extremely popular among young Americans, both as entertainment channels and news sources. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, around 59% of Americans under the age of 30 use the app, with people ages 13 to 17 being the largest group of daily users.
US adults over the age of 30 are also attracted to the app, with use within that group increasing from 21% to 33% between 2021 and 2023. In total, about a third of US adults say they use Tiktok.
Tiktok is also a platform that allows businesses to reach potential customers as they leverage their partnership with influential Tiktok stars for advertising.
The app has become an important way for politicians to reach young people as well, with Trump’s own account attracting 15.2 million followers.
Young voters up until last November’s presidential election showed a noticeable change towards Trump, according to Tufts University. 46% of young people voted for Trump, compared to 36% who voted for him in the 2020 election. But overall, the young people voted for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris (52%) over Trump (46%).
