The White House has announced that US companies will now control TikTok's algorithm and Americans will hold six of seven board seats for the app's US operations in a much-anticipated deal with China.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that a deal could be signed in the coming days, but Beijing has yet to comment.
The US has sought to take the video-sharing app's US operations away from Chinese parent company ByteDance for national security reasons.
TikTok was previously told it had to sell its US operations or risk being shut down.
However, former US President Donald Trump delayed implementing the ban four times, with the deadline now extended to December.
Leavitt indicated that data and privacy for the app in the US will be overseen by tech giant Oracle, owned by Larry Ellison, a Trump ally. She noted, The data and privacy will be led by one of America's greatest tech companies, Oracle, and the algorithm will also be controlled by America as well. All those details have already been agreed upon. Now we just need this deal to be signed.
Trump indicated in a recent announcement that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping approved a deal regarding TikTok's US operations during a phone call, although there has been no confirmation from Beijing.
During that conversation, Trump stated on Truth Social that it was a productive discussion and he appreciated Xi's approval for the deal, which would involve selling TikTok's US business to American investors.
China's state media reported that Xi expressed Beijing's willingness to negotiate on TikTok.
Concerns persist over who will hold the control for TikTok's influential algorithm, which affects the content experienced by its 170 million American users.
Recently, Trump has altered his stance on TikTok, using the platform to enhance his outreach to young Americans during his successful 2024 presidential campaign. In January, the US Supreme Court upheld a 2024 law mandating the app’s divestment from ByteDance or risk a ban, though the app only briefly went dark before the ban was delayed.
The U.S. Department of Justice has previously highlighted concerns that TikTok's access to user data represented a potent national security threat.
