President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that he says will allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States in a way that meets national security concerns outlined by the law.
Last year, President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring China’s ByteDance to sell TikTok’s assets to an American company by early this year or face a nationwide ban. However, Mr. Trump has repeatedly signed orders allowing TikTok to keep operating as his administration works to reach an agreement for the sale of the social media company.
Much remains unknown about the details of the deal in progress, but Mr. Trump said on Thursday that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has approved it. Any major change to the popular video platform could significantly impact how Americans—particularly young adults and teenagers—consume information online.
According to a Pew Research Center report published on Thursday, about 43% of U.S. adults under the age of 30 say they regularly get news from TikTok. This is higher than any other social media app, including YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
Under the terms of the deal revealed so far by the White House, TikTok will be spun off into a new U.S. joint venture owned by a consortium of American investors, including Oracle and investment firm Silver Lake Partners. Though details have yet to be finalized, the investment groups are expected to hold around an 80% stake in the new venture, while ByteDance would retain a 20%, or smaller, share.
The board overseeing the new platform will be controlled by U.S. investors. ByteDance will have one representative on the board, but that individual will be excluded from any security matters or related committees.
TikTok’s new owners include several individuals with business or political ties to Mr. Trump, such as Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and media mogul Rupert Murdoch. This has raised questions about potential political influence over the platform. Although Mr. Ellison stepped down as Oracle’s CEO more than a decade ago, he remains heavily involved as chairman and chief technology officer.
Now 81, Ellison could become a behind-the-scenes media power player, having already helped finance Skydance’s recently completed $8 billion merger with Paramount—a deal orchestrated by his son, David.
Mr. Trump also mentioned that Dell founder Michael Dell will be an investor in the new venture.
At the heart of the national security debate over TikTok is the platform’s recommendation algorithm, which directs millions of users into an endless stream of short videos. China previously maintained that the algorithm must remain under Chinese control by law. However, a U.S. regulation passed by Congress with bipartisan support requires that any divestment of TikTok must sever the platform’s ties with ByteDance.
American officials have warned that the algorithm—a complex system of rules and calculations used to deliver content to users’ feeds—is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities. They caution that it could be used to shape messaging on the platform in a way that is difficult to detect. However, to date, no evidence has been presented by U.S. officials showing that China has attempted such manipulation.
During his first term, Mr. Trump signed an executive order attempting to ban TikTok if it did not separate its U.S. business, warning that the app’s data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information.
Since then, Mr. Trump has changed his stance on TikTok, often citing its role in helping him reach young voters in the 2024 presidential election.
https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/trump-signs-order-allowing-tiktok-to-keep-operating-in-us-1811135.html