Trump Announces Major TikTok Deal Breakthrough in Call with China’s Xi

Geopolitical tech shakeup as former President Trump confirms significant progress on TikTok's fate—because nothing says 'free market' like billion-dollar forced acquisitions.

The Art of the Tech Deal

Trump's unexpected callback to Xi Jinping signals movement on the long-stalled TikTok negotiations. Sources close to the discussion reveal both sides are pushing for resolution before election season heats up—proving even tech giants bow to political winds.

Data Sovereignty Showdown

American user data protection remains the sticking point. The proposed solution? A US-based entity controlling stateside operations while ByteDance maintains technical oversight. Because what's better than one corporate overlord? Two.

Market Reactions Roll In

Wall Street's already pricing in the deal—because nothing makes traders happier than regulatory uncertainty becoming profitable certainty. Oracle and Microsoft shares ticked upward on rumors of cloud partnership roles.

When geopolitics meets tech, everyone claims victory while users get another terms-of-service update to ignore.

Elevate Your Investing Strategy:

• Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated, “We made progress on many very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal.” He added that the call was “very productive,” and both leaders look forward to meeting at the upcoming APEC summit in South Korea.

The MOVE follows pressure and negotiations following a 2024 law that mandated TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. operations. 

Following the call, ByteDance released a statement that it will “work in accordance with applicable laws to ensure TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok U.S.”

What’s in the Deal?

Final details of the agreement have not been publicly released. 

According to reports, the proposed deal WOULD see a consortium of U.S. investors, including Oracle (ORCL), Andreessen Horowitz, and Silver Lake, acquire at least 80% of TikTok’s U.S. assets. The remaining 20% would stay with Chinese stakeholders.

Also, the new entity would be overseen by a majority-U.S. board, with one member appointed by the Trump administration.

Oracle is expected to continue managing TikTok’s U.S. user data, a security measure that was first announced in 2020.

The Algorithm Dilemma

Despite the progress, one major uncertainty remains: TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, which determines what users see on their “For You” feed and is considered key intellectual property by ByteDance.

The U.S. law prohibits any cooperation between the new American entity and ByteDance regarding its use. This raises the possibility that the U.S. version of TikTok may need to develop its own algorithm from scratch.

What Is the Best Social Media Stock to Buy? 

For investors interested in investing in the Social Media sector, we have shortlisted the best stocks to buy in this sector, using the TipRanks Stocks Comparison tool. Analysts are most bullish on Meta Platforms (META) and Pinterest (PINS), both of which carry a Strong Buy rating. Among the two, Pinterest offers the highest upside potential from its current price.