TikTok will continue operating in the United States under a new deal that transfers control of the app’s operations to American ownership.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday approving the arrangement, which U.S. officials said resolves security concerns while preserving access for millions of users, according to the Associated Press.
This order enables an American-led group of investors to purchase TikTok from its parent company, ByteDance, although no official deal has been announced, and any future move would require approval from China as well.
The agreement follows months of negotiations involving the White House, Chinese officials, and ByteDance, which faced pressure to divest amid national security scrutiny, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Trump hailed the shift as a win for U.S. interests.
“It’s owned by Americans, and very sophisticated Americans,” he said, according to CNBC.
“This is going to be American-operated all the way.”
Although China would have to approve any future sale of the application, Trump said that Chinese President Xi Jinping has already signified his approval of a deal.
“I spoke with President Xi,” said Trump, per Reuters. “We had a good talk, I told him what we were doing, and he said go ahead with it.”
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance stated that the deal centers on data protection and oversight.
“There was some resistance on the Chinese side, but the fundamental thing that we wanted to accomplish is that we wanted to keep TikTok operating, but we also wanted to make sure that we protected Americans’ data privacy as required by law,” said Vance, as reported by the AP.
Vance later added that this deal is a significant step in protecting American data, noting that the shift to American ownership should make citizens more confident in using the application.
“This deal really does mean Americans can use TikTok but actually use it with more confidence than they had in the past because their data is secure and it won’t be used as a propaganda weapon like it has in the past,” Vance said, per ABC News.
The terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed, although Trump administration officials stated that U.S. investors will take control of operations and ensure compliance with strict data handling rules.