Trump announces deal with China to allow TikTok to continue operating in US

US President Donald Trump has announced a deal with China to allow the TikTok platform to continue operating in the United States.

Trump said he would speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday to confirm the details of an agreement to avoid a ban on the popular video-sharing app in the US.

“We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it. And you know, the kids want it so badly,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.

“I had parents calling me up. They don’t want it for themselves, they want it for their kids. They say, if I don’t get it done, they are in big trouble with their kids. And I think it’s great. I hate to see value like that thrown out the window,” he said.

Trump signed an executive order later on Tuesday extending until December 16 a deadline for TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to divest from the platform or face the promised ban.

Trump, who has credited TikTok with helping him win young voters in November’s presidential election, did not provide specific details on the nature of the deal.

The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the Chinese ownership stake in TikTok would be reduced to less than 20 percent under the proposed agreement.

China’s People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, hailed the deal as an example of “cooperation for mutual benefit”.

“China’s commitment to safeguarding national interests and the legitimate rights of Chinese enterprises remains unwavering,” the newspaper said in a commentary.

“It will lawfully process matters such as technology export approvals and intellectual property licensing rights related to TikTok,” the newspaper added.

Yan Liang, an economics professor at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, said the reported details of the deal raised questions about what China would get in return for divesting.

“After all, Trump has the interest to keep TikTok running for his personal political gain,” Yan told Al Jazeera.

“Trump’s business clientele also has the interest to keep TikTok alive, even if they don’t hold a majority control of this lucrative company,” she said.

“I’d be surprised that China agrees with such a deal without [many] concessions from the US.”

The future of TikTok, which claims more than 170 million users in the US, has been in the balance since lawmakers in Washington last year passed legislation to force the platform to divest from its Chinese ownership.

Democrats and Republicans alike overwhelmingly supported the ban amid concerns the platform could be used by Beijing to spy on Americans and spread Chinese Communist Party propaganda.

Trump himself sought to ban TikTok in his first term as president, before doing a U-turn and pledging to “save” the platform during his re-election campaign.

Critics of the ban have argued that it infringes on US free speech rights and fails to address privacy concerns surrounding social media platforms in general.

“I never thought the United States should shut down TikTok over speculation that China might gather information about, or try to influence, Americans,” Ryan Calo, co-director of the Tech Policy Lab at the University of Washington, told Al Jazeera.

“So, from that perspective, striking a deal to preserve TikTok in the United States is a win,” Calo said.

But Calo said the Trump administration’s creation of its “own timetable” for reaching a deal had flouted the process outlined in the legislation passed by Congress.

“This is a blow to the rule of law, among many,” he said.

Anupam Chander, an expert in law and technology at Georgetown Law, said Trump’s announcement raised questions about potential political influence over TikTok’s content.

“Many Americans have been worried that the change in ownership of CBS might change the politics of the channel,” Chander said, referring to the major US broadcaster.

“I think it’s also fair for TikTok users in the US to wonder if we will see our TikTok content change to reflect the views of TikTok’s new owners, who may have a friendly relationship with the current Administration.”