According to Trump, the deal ensures that TikTok complies with divestment-or-ban laws, but the White House is still not providing further details. Instead, the Trump administration “referred questions to TikTok about the deal,” Reuters reported.
In September, Vice Chairman J.D. Vance said that if the deal closes as expected on January 22, the estimated value of the new US company will be $14 billion.
At that time, the deal will face increasing scrutiny from lawmakers, including Republicans, who are not yet sure whether the US operation addresses all national security concerns. Chinese control over the algorithm was a particular sticking point for critics, who claimed Trump was giving China exactly what it wanted: international recognition for exporting leading technology to the US.
In September, Senator Chuck Grassley (R.-Iowa) vowed to take a “tough stance” and oppose the deal framework if it violates divestment-or-improper laws. Already, Representative John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Select Committee on China, is planning to hold a hearing with US TikTok leadership next year.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) accused Trump of handing “even more control of what you see to his billionaire friends” through the TikTok deal, which she compared to enabling a “billionaire takeover of TikTok.” After Trump suggested he wanted his handpicked investors to change the algorithm to be “100 percent MAGA,” many TikTokers likely shared his concerns.
Questions will remain until the exact terms of the deal are made public, Warren said.
ByteDance did not respond to Ars’ request for comment.
With the terms unclear, it’s unclear how quickly TikTok could transition under US ownership in 2026. In July, The Information reported that about 170 million US users could be defected when they were ported to the new US-owned app.
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