What To Know About Trump’s Negotiations To Keep App Online
Topline
President Donald Trump’s order pausing the U.S. ban on TikTok is set to expire in a few weeks and it’s still unclear how the government will work with private companies and the Chinese government to keep the app online, though reports suggest software giant Oracle may take a leading role in a potential TikTok deal.
Sarah Baus of Charleston, S.C., a content creator on TikTok, holds a sign that reads “Keep TikTok” … [+]
Key Facts
Trump issued an executive order on the first day of his presidency temporarily pausing the federal ban on TikTok, after lawmakers restricted the app from being hosted in the U.S. unless Chinese parent company ByteDance divests from the platform.
That pause is set to expire April 5, and no final agreement has yet been reached on how the app will function in the U.S. going forward.
Vice President JD Vance, who’s reportedly leading the administration’s TikTok negotiations, told NBC News on Friday there “will almost certainly be a high-level agreement” by April 5 “that I think satisfies our national security concerns, allows there to be a distinct American TikTok enterprise.”
Trump said March 10 his administration was “dealing with four different groups” on a potential TikTok deal—without specifying who those groups are—though reports from Politico and The Information suggest Oracle is the leading contender to take over U.S. operations of TikTok.
What Could Trump’s Tiktok Deal Look Like?
The contours of any final deal on TikTok still remain to be seen. Citing anonymous sources, Politico reported Sunday the White House is in discussions with Oracle on a deal that would give the company oversight over TikTok’s U.S. data, and task Oracle with keeping that information walled off from the Chinese government. That agreement would also keep ByteDance’s signature algorithm, which controls the posts TikTok users see, Politico suggests. That’s raised concerns about how well the future deal will address lawmakers’ national security concerns about ByteDance’s Chinese ownership—the basis for the ban in the first place—with sources cited by Politico suggesting the deal could result in vulnerabilities that would allow China access to TikTok data, given that ByteDance would still be involved. (TikTok has long denied any wrongdoing or ties to the Chinese government.)
Who Else Could Take Over Tiktok In The U.s.?
While Oracle has so far reportedly emerged as the leading contender, a number of parties have been floated as candidates to oversee TikTok’s U.S. operations. Suitors that have publicly expressed interest in TikTok include artificial intelligence company Perplexity AI, former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and two consortiums of investors led by billionaire Frank McCourt and Employer.com founder Jesse Tinsley. Trump also told reporters in January that Microsoft was among the companies interested in a TikTok deal, and Wyoming entrepreneur Reid Rasner, CEO of Omnivest Financial, told NBC News earlier in March he had presented a bid to the Trump administration, claiming it’s taking his offer “very seriously.” Rasner’s proposal for TikTok would create payment tiers on the platform, which allow creators to pay up to $12,000 per year in exchange for extra perks. Trump has previously suggested he wants the federal government to have 50% ownership in TikTok, but it’s still unclear if that will be the case in whatever final deal is reached.
Where Do Tiktok Negotiations Stand Now?
Reports suggest no deal has yet been finalized on TikTok, though Politico reports Oracle is “accelerating talks” with the White House on TikTok and officials from the company are slated to visit Capitol Hill this week to meet with lawmakers about the negotiations. Speaking with NBC on Friday, Vance suggested while there would likely be some kind of an agreement on TikTok by April 5, it was still unclear if the deal would be fully completed by that point, noting similar deals “that are much smaller and involve much less capital take months to close.” “I think that the outlines of this thing will be very clear [by April 5],” Vance said. “The question is whether we can get all the paper done.” One big issue that reportedly remains to be resolved is whether the Chinese government will approve of any final TikTok deal, as it would have to approve any measure in which ByteDance divests from TikTok. The Information reported ByteDance sees Oracle as its preferred company to take over TikTok, but Politico notes it’s still unclear what Beijing will say about any final agreement. The Chinese government and ByteDance have long opposed any efforts to sell TikTok, but China has more recently softened its tone slightly, saying such business deals “should be independently decided by companies in accordance with market principles.”
What Did Jd Vance Say About The Tiktok Deal?
Vance told NBC that while it’s unclear how long completing a deal will take, he thinks it will ultimately be successful in keeping the app online for U.S. users. “I think we’re going to be in a place where we can say TikTok is operational, and it’s also operational in a way that’s protective of Americans’ data privacy and America’s national security,” Vance said.
Could Trump’s Pause On The Tiktok Ban Be Extended?
Trump has previously suggested he could extend his 75-day pause on the TikTok ban if no deal is reached by April 5, saying March 6 he would “probably” extend the pause if needed. The federal legislation restricting TikTok only allows presidents to delay the ban for up to 90 days if there’s evidence that negotiations for ByteDance to divest are underway. So far no companies or private individuals have suggested they plan to challenge Trump’s actions on TikTok in court, however, so even if Trump extended the pause for longer than 90 days, it’s unclear if there would be any consequences.
Key Background
The TikTok ban was enacted in April 2024 after lawmakers of both parties had long expressed concerns about TikTok’s ties to the Chinese government, even as the app has consistently denied any wrongdoing. The government has never pointed to specific intelligence to justify its TikTok ban, but Forbes has reported on numerous concerns involving the app, including TikTok spying on journalists, promoting Chinese propaganda that criticized U.S. politicians, mishandling user data and tracking “sensitive” words. The ban briefly took effect immediately prior to Trump’s inauguration, after the Supreme Court upheld the federal ban, blocking all U.S. users from accessing TikTok and other ByteDance-owned apps. TikTok came back online hours later, however, amid Trump’s assurances he would preserve access to the app upon taking office. The app has continued operationally without any issues since then, with Apple and Google restoring access to ByteDance apps on their app stores in February after initially blocking TikTok for weeks despite Trump’s order freezing the ban. Trump’s willingness to save TikTok has marked somewhat of an about-face for the president, whose embrace of the app over the past few months comes after he initially tried to ban it during his first term.
Further Reading