MADRID, Spain: The fate of TikTok in the United States may hinge on its most valuable asset: the algorithm that fuels its endless scroll of personalized videos. After years of uncertainty, China has signaled that the platform may be allowed to keep using it even if TikTok is sold to new owners.
Wang Jingtao, deputy director of China’s Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, told reporters in Madrid this week that there was consensus on authorizing “the use of intellectual property rights such as (TikTok’s) algorithm”, a major sticking point in U.S.-China negotiations. The two sides also agreed to entrust a partner with handling U.S. user data and content security, he said. Still, how such an arrangement would work in practice remains unclear.
A deal is in progress.
Little is known about the details of the agreement taking shape. Li Chenggang, China’s international trade representative, said the two countries had reached a “basic framework consensus” to resolve TikTok-related issues while reducing investment barriers and promoting economic cooperation. The deadline for finalizing terms is December 16, following the Trump administration’s latest extension.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after trade talks in Madrid that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would speak on September 19 to possibly finalize the deal. “The commercial terms have been agreed upon,” Bessent said, while stressing the objective was to switch TikTok to American ownership. He did not disclose the companies involved.
Oracle Corp. has been floated as a likely buyer, but the company has not commented. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer added that the team was “very focused on TikTok and making sure that it was a deal that is fair for the Chinese,” while also “completely respecting U.S. national security concerns.”
Why the algorithm matters
At a Supreme Court hearing in January, TikTok’s lawyers argued that Chinese law restricts the transfer of its proprietary algorithm, the technology behind its viral success. U.S. officials have long warned that Beijing could manipulate the algorithm to influence what Americans see, though TikTok says there has never been evidence of such interference.
The House Select Committee on China has made clear that any agreement must comply with U.S. law requiring TikTok to be divested from Chinese ownership or face a ban. “It wouldn’t comply if the algorithm were Chinese. There can’t be any shared algorithm with ByteDance,” a committee spokesperson said.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the panel’s top Democrat, stressed that “the Chinese Communist Party’s access to American data” is his central concern. He said he would consider options if TikTok could guarantee protection from Beijing’s reach.
Delays and politics
Trump has repeatedly extended TikTok’s deadline to avoid a ban, most recently on September 16, a day before the prior deadline expired. While the legality of such extensions is unclear, no challenges have been filed. Trump himself has more than 15 million TikTok followers and has credited the app with boosting his support among young voters.
TikTok, which has 170 million U.S. users, continues to operate normally. Tech giants Apple, Google, and Oracle have kept supporting the app after assurances from the Justice Department.
Public opinion remains split. A Pew Research Center survey found about one-third of Americans back a ban, down from 50 percent in 2023. Roughly one-third oppose a ban, while the rest are undecided. Among supporters of a ban, 8 in 10 cited risks to user data as a key reason.