Trump suggests deal reached over the way forward for TikTook

President Donald Trump has posted on his social media website {that a} assembly between the U.S. and Chinese officers went effectively and {that a} deal was reached concerning “a ‘sure’ firm that younger individuals in our Country very a lot needed to avoid wasting.”

Mr. Trump’s remark means that the corporate is TikTook, the social media firm related to China, that U.S. legislation requires to be bought or else stop operations.

The Republican President has repeatedly prolonged the deadline on TikTook’s destiny and was noncommittal on an settlement when requested by reporters on Sunday (September 14, 2025) night. Mr. Trump additionally mentioned that he can be talking on Friday (September 19, 2025) with Chinese chief Xi Jinping.

There was no rapid affirmation from China.

TikTook is one in every of greater than 100 apps developed previously decade by ByteDance, a know-how agency based in 2012 by Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming and headquartered in Beijing’s northwestern Haidian district.

In 2016, ByteDance launched a short-form video platform known as Douyin in China and adopted up with a world model known as TikTook. It then purchased Musical.ly, a lip-syncing platform widespread with teenagers within the U.S. and Europe, and mixed it with TikTook whereas preserving the app separate from Douyin.

Soon after, the app boomed in recognition within the U.S. and lots of different nations, turning into the primary Chinese platform to make severe inroads within the West. Unlike different social media platforms that targeted on cultivating connections amongst customers, TikTook tailor-made content material to individuals’s pursuits.

The movies and music clips content material creators posted gave TikTook a picture as a sunny nook of the web the place customers might discover enjoyable and a way of authenticity. Finding an viewers on the platform helped launch the careers of music artists like Lil Nas X.

TikTook gained extra traction throughout the shutdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, when quick dances that went viral turned a mainstay of the app. To higher compete, Instagram and YouTube ultimately got here out with their very own instruments for making short-form movies, respectively referred to as Reels and Shorts. By that time, TikTook was a bona fide hit.

Challenges got here in tandem with TikTook’s success. U.S. officers expressed considerations in regards to the firm’s roots and possession, pointing to legal guidelines in China that require Chinese firms handy over information requested by the federal government. Another concern turned the proprietary algorithm that populates what customers see on the app.