There’s a major development on the “TikTok ban The U.S. government has announced that an agreement has been reached with China, and Trump has already shared some details

Recently, the United States government announced that an agreement has been reached with China regarding the so-called “TikTok ban”, the law requiring ByteDance to sell the social network to a buyer not tied to China itself, in order to prevent the platform from being blocked in the United States. Trump also signed an executive order officially declaring that the agreement meets the requirements of the “TikTok ban.” Negotiations on the actual sale, however, are still ongoing, and it is not yet clear how and when it will happen. The issue was discussed in a phone call between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Trump. While the former did not disclose details, the latter stated that the consortium that will purchase TikTok in the United States will include some of the country’s most prominent billionaires in the tech sector. The U.S. president named Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan, respectively the founder of the media giant Fox Corp and the company’s current executive; also involved would be Oracle’s CEO Larry Ellison, and Michael Dell, head of Dell Technologies. Among the main investors, according to specialized media, would also be the U.S. fund Silver Lake, active in technology and digital sectors. This new entity, valued at about $14 billion—far less than market estimates that went as high as $40 billion—will be tasked with overseeing TikTok’s digital security in the United States, as well as managing local content and operational activities. According to reports, the company’s board of directors will have seven members—six Americans and one appointed by ByteDance, which is expected to retain less than 20% ownership. The platform’s core algorithm will then be redesigned and monitored by U.S. companies specializing in cybersecurity, to ensure compliance with data protection regulations.

Why the “TikTok ban” deal matters so much

With its 170 million users, the United States is TikTok’s largest market worldwide: as with other major social networks, the platform is used both as entertainment and as a source of information; during the presidential election campaign, it was also widely used by political candidates—and the same happens abroad. Moreover, for tens of thousands of U.S. content creators, TikTok is the main source of income. The platform is owned by ByteDance, the Chinese tech giant which, like all major companies based in China, maintains close ties with the Beijing government—the United States’ direct rival. The White House has long believed that TikTok therefore poses a threat to national security: essentially, the company would be unable to resist potential cooperation requests from the Chinese authorities, creating the risk of handing over massive amounts of sensitive user data or allowing its powerful algorithm to be manipulated to promote or suppress specific content, with the aim of influencing U.S. public opinion. ByteDance has always denied these accusations, while Washington has never provided concrete evidence proving any exchange of information with Beijing. It should be noted, however, that TikTok has already been banned in several countries, including India, Iran, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Somalia. Nevertheless, even with such bans, access to the app has not been entirely impossible, as in many cases it was enough to use a VPN to simulate a connection from another country.

A more concrete danger concerning TikTok relates to political propaganda carried out by third-party state actors through the targeted dissemination of specific content, in an attempt to influence younger audiences. A striking example is that of the most recent presidential elections in Romania, annulled by the authorities after suspicions of a Russian attempt to manipulate the outcome through a large-scale disinformation campaign spread precisely on TikTok. In the United States, however, concerns about the platform are not new: back in 2021, during Trump’s first presidency, the administration had unsuccessfully attempted to ban it, while in 2023, under Joe Biden, the government ordered the approximately 4 million federal agency employees not to install TikTok on their work phones. The European Union did the same, along with several other countries, such as the United Kingdom and Canada: the fear was that the platform could serve as a gateway for the Chinese government to access sensitive information. In this context, in April 2024, the Congress passed the law later known as the “TikTok Ban,” which required ByteDance to sell the platform to a buyer approved by Washington, or else face a nationwide block. The move caused significant upheaval, and opened the door for other competing platforms. The Chinese company reacted harshly, accusing the United States of violating the principles of freedom of expression and opting to contest the measure in court, effectively refusing to cooperate in the sale process. However, after a series of trials and appeals, it now seems that an agreement has been reached that satisfies both parties.