As the social media platform’s standing in the United States is still up in the air, TikTok sponsored an Ed Sheeran concert in New York City on Saturday.
The Trump administration has a preliminary agreement with Beijing on TikTok, according to President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday. However, it was unclear how the agreement would align with a 2024 law that aims to ban the social media platform nationwide if it is still owned by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
There was “a framework for a TikTok deal,” Bessent told reporters after meeting with Chinese officials in Spain, and that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would “speak on Friday to complete the deal.” In a previous social media post, Trump claimed that a deal had been reached “on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save.”
“They’ll be overjoyed! On Friday, I’ll be meeting with President Xi,” Trump added.
Many things are still unclear, according to analysts, particularly considering how important ownership over TikTok’s recommendation engine and user data are.
“The specifics will be the tricky part. “It all boils down to three things: who controls the algorithm, who owns the data, and who has access to it,” stated Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the conservative think tank Hudson Institute.
“There must be a formal divestment in which ByteDance gives up ownership of TikTok U.S., gives up control of the algorithm, and releases its access to user data in the United States.” For the transaction to be lawful, those three requirements must be fulfilled.
According to Sobolik, Congressmen have been stating this year that any agreement involving TikTok must adhere to the law that was passed last year that targets the app. He believes that for the time being, they are “holding their fire and keeping their powder dry until the actual terms of the deal come out.”
Trump may threaten to shut down TikTok this week if “anyone on the Chinese side starts to hem and haw or not abide by the framework,” according to Sobolik, but he is likely to sign another order by Wednesday that would allow the app to continue operating in the United States.
As long as ByteDance maintains control of the platform, Trump has issued three orders instructing the Justice Department to refrain from enforcing the statute that would have banned TikTok countrywide on January 19. He is anticipated to offer another lifeline this week. His most recent order, which was given in mid-June, gave TikTok a reprieve until this Wednesday.
Terry Haines, the creator of Pangaea Policy, wrote in a note that the TikTok preliminary deal is a “trinket” that diverts attention from the general lack of advancement in larger U.S.-China talks.
In order for the agreement to be implemented, Haines said he believes Congress will likely need to repeal or amend last year’s law, which could be difficult to accomplish given lawmakers’ national security worries regarding TikTok.
“That’s very far from a slam dunk: Congress isn’t likely to leave the field quietly or compliantly regardless of what Trump’s negotiated, even if China’s tied it to some other supposed concession,” Haines stated.
