The TikTok Deal is Done, But What Did America Actually Win?
President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will make it official when they meet in Busan, South Korea on
After years of threats, delays, and political theater, TikTok’s fate in America is finally sealed. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Sunday that the US and China have reached a “final deal” to transfer TikTok’s American operations to new owners, mostly American investors, with ByteDance keeping less than 20% of the pie.
President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will make it official when they meet in Busan, South Korea on Thursday. It’ll be their first face-to-face since 2019, and apparently, nothing says “let’s bury the hatchet” quite like a $14 billion app deal.
But here’s the question nobody’s asking loudly enough: Did the US actually solve anything?
The Deal Nobody Wanted to Make
Let’s rewind. In 2020, Trump, during his first presidency, threatened to ban TikTok entirely, calling it a national security threat because of its ties to China. The concern was legitimate: ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is subject to Chinese Communist Party influence, and the data of 170 million American users potentially sitting in Beijing’s hands isn’t exactly comforting.
Fast forward to April 2024. Congress passed legislation, and President Joe Biden signed it into law, mandating that TikTok be divested from Chinese ownership or face a ban. The deadline was set for January 20, 2025.
Then Trump returned to office. And suddenly, the man who wanted TikTok banned became the man orchestrating its sale. He delayed the ban four times while his administration hammered out the details of this TikTok sale deal.
The irony isn’t lost on anyone.
What’s Actually in the Deal?
Here’s what the public knows about the TikTok sale deal, which, frustratingly, isn’t much. Bessent was careful not to reveal too many details, noting he wasn’t “part of the commercial side of the transaction.” His job was simply to get China to agree, which apparently took two days of negotiations in Madrid.
According to Trump’s executive order from September, the framework looks like this:
- ByteDance and Chinese investors: Less than 20% ownership
- US and international investors: About 65% ownership (the majority stake)
- Control of the algorithm: Handed to the new American investors
- Board of directors: Six out of seven seats go to the new investors
The names being floated as potential US investors read like a who’s who of conservative power players: Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, tech mogul Michael Dell, and News Corp Chairman Emeritus Rupert Murdoch. Trump’s former social media manager even suggested his 19-year-old son, Barron Trump, might get a board seat, because apparently, nothing screams “qualified oversight” like a teenager.
The deal is valued at $14 billion. ByteDance gets to keep a small piece. American billionaires get the rest. And Xi Jinping gets to save face by technically not “losing” TikTok entirely.
Everyone wins. Except maybe the people who actually use the app.
The National Security Theater
Let’s be blunt: If TikTok was truly a national security threat severe enough to warrant a congressional ban, does selling 65% of it to American investors actually solve the problem?
ByteDance still owns nearly 20%. And here’s the uncomfortable truth: China doesn’t need to own TikTok to influence it. If Beijing wants data on American users, there are countless other ways to get it. People’s phones, apps, and entire digital lives are already leaking information in ways most don’t understand.
This TikTok sale deal feels less like a genuine solution to a national security problem and more like a way to avoid the political fallout of actually banning the app. Because let’s face it, 170 million American users would’ve rioted if their favorite app disappeared overnight.
The Real Prize: Algorithm Control
Here’s what nobody’s saying loudly enough: The data privacy concern is the excuse. The algorithm is the goal.
Whoever controls TikTok’s algorithm controls what 170 million Americans see, believe, and care about. That’s not a security concern, that’s a power concern. The US doesn’t want China shaping American minds and culture. Fair enough.
But handing that power to American billionaires with their own political agendas? That’s not necessarily better, it’s just different masters.
The algorithm is the real secret sauce. It’s what makes TikTok dangerously addictive and powerful. It decides which political movements go viral, which ideas get amplified, which narratives dominate. It’s information warfare disguised as entertainment.
America fears China could use TikTok to spread propaganda, suppress dissent, or manipulate public opinion during critical moments like elections or international crises. That’s the nightmare scenario that keeps national security officials up at night.
So yes, getting it out of Chinese hands makes sense. But putting it into the hands of people like Rupert Murdoch, a media mogul with decades of experience shaping narratives and influencing politics? The concern doesn’t disappear, it just changes citizenship.
The Geopolitical Chess Game
What makes this deal really interesting isn’t TikTok itself. It’s what TikTok represents in the broader US-China relationship.
Bessent also revealed that Trump plans to back off from the 155% tariff threat he’d lobbed at China last week. That threat, which would’ve brought total tariffs on Chinese imports to around 155%, was scheduled to take effect on November 1. Now, according to Bessent, it’s “effectively off the table.”
He also hinted that “soybean farmers are going to be extremely happy with this deal,” suggesting China will resume substantial agricultural purchases from American farmers.
In other words, TikTok was the bargaining chip. Trump wanted trade concessions. Xi wanted to avoid the humiliation of losing TikTok entirely. They both got what they wanted.
The app’s fate was never really about national security. It was about leverage.
What This Means for Users
For the average TikTok user, life probably won’t change much. The app will look the same. The algorithm will still be eerily good at knowing what you want to watch next. Your For You Page will still be a dopamine-fueled rabbit hole.
But here’s what should concern users: transparency.
Under Chinese ownership, everyone knew TikTok was potentially a national security risk. Under this new hybrid ownership structure established by the TikTok sale deal, users get the illusion of American control while ByteDance still holds a significant stake. It’s the worst of both worlds, a false sense of security without any real accountability.
The Bigger Picture
This deal reveals something uncomfortable about how America approaches tech regulation. The country doesn’t actually want to solve problems, it wants to look like it’s solving problems.
Banning TikTok would’ve been messy, unpopular, and politically costly. So instead, officials engineered a compromise that lets everyone save face. China keeps a stake. American investors get rich. Politicians get to claim victory. And the fundamental issues, data privacy, algorithmic manipulation, foreign influence, remain largely unaddressed.
The Trump-Xi meeting on Thursday will be historic, sure. But let’s not pretend it’s about TikTok. It’s about tariffs, trade, soybeans, and fentanyl. The TikTok sale deal was just the carrot that got both sides to the table.
The Uncomfortable Truth
So what did America actually win? On paper, the country got majority American ownership of a platform used by 170 million people. It avoided a politically disastrous ban. It potentially secured better trade terms with China.
But the US didn’t win security. It didn’t win transparency. It didn’t win real control.
America won a deal. And in politics, sometimes that’s all that matters.
The details will be finalized in South Korea on Thursday. The headlines will celebrate the “historic agreement.” And TikTok will keep doing exactly what it’s always done: learning everything about you, one scroll at a time.
The only question is: Who’s watching now? this “new personality in town” might be the oldest leadership truth finally given a name.
Sources
US and China reach ‘final deal’ on TikTok sale, treasury secretary says. The Guardian. US,
