(qlmbusinessnews.com . Sat 20th Sep, 2025) London, UK —
TikTok's Future in the US: Preliminary Agreement Signals Ownership Shift to American Entities
The UK Treasury Representative announces progress on a TikTok U.S. ownership agreement following discussions with China.
In a significant development, the US Treasury's Scott Bessent revealed that a preliminary agreement, termed as a “framework”, has been established with China regarding the future of TikTok's operations in America. This announcement came amidst the ongoing trade negotiations in Madrid, setting the stage for a potential shift in ownership to US entities. Bessent disclosed that this agreement anticipates finalisation by US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, by Friday.
On the social media platform Truth Social, Trump shared his optimism about the negotiations, stating they had “gone very well”. In a parallel statement, China acknowledged the tentative agreement but emphasised that it wouldn't compromise the interests of Chinese enterprises in any final arrangement.
This development surfaces as ByteDance, the Chinese proprietor of TikTok, faces a deadline to divest its American division or risk a complete shutdown and ban within the US.
Bessent highlighted that the possibility of a shutdown was a critical factor in moving the discussions forward, leading to Chinese negotiators relenting on their demands for decreased tariffs in any deal regarding TikTok’s US branch.
He further assured that the commercial terms agreed upon would safeguard US national security interests. Simultaneously, US trade ambassador Jamieson Greer, present in Madrid, remarked that the deal awaited the approval of both nations' leaders, making it clear that further extensions to the ban were not preferred.
On the other side, China's principal trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, indicated that China's agreement would not betray its principles or the interests of its companies, with any deal set to undergo a thorough review by its leadership.
The context for these discussions is the US Supreme Court's endorsement of legislation, passed in April 2024, outlawing the video-sharing app unless ByteDance relinquishes its US operations. The US Justice Department has flagged TikTok's data access as a considerable national security threat.
Despite TikTok’s assurances of its US operations' independence and denial of data sharing with the Chinese government, concerns persist. The company also argues that a ban would infringe upon the free speech rights of its 170 million American users.
After the law's activation in January, leading to a temporary shutdown of TikTok, Trump intervened, postponing the ban for 75 days – a deadline that has seen multiple extensions, with the latest expiring on 17 September.
High-profile figures like Oracle’s Larry Ellison, YouTube's MrBeast, and investor Frank McCourt have been speculated as potential purchasers of the platform.
The proposed deal, according to Bessent, fully addresses US national security worries, yet details remain sparse, raising expert concerns over aspects like control over TikTok's influential recommendation algorithm and user data storage. Questions about data encryption, storage sovereignty, and the possibility of independent audits to prevent covert data access by Beijing remain unanswered, highlighted by Sarah Kreps of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University.
Former Biden administration national security official, Jim Secreto, pointed out China’s pivotal role in algorithm control, underlining the broader trade and tariff negotiation context of the TikTok deal. He noted the critical national security implications if these concerns are mitigated, citing ByteDance's significant stature in China's AI industry and the potential future use of collected data.
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