TikTok's algorithm and data will be controlled 'by America,' White House says
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Karoline Leavitt, the spokesperson for the White House, shared additional information on Saturday regarding an agreement between the United States and China concerning the oversight of TikTok, a widely used social media app. She announced that six out of the seven seats on the board managing the company will be occupied by Americans, and the U.S. will have control over the app’s algorithm.

“This agreement prioritizes America,” Leavitt stated on Fox News on Saturday. “To be clear, this agreement ensures that TikTok will be predominantly owned by Americans within the United States. There will be seven seats on the board governing the app in the U.S., and six of those seats will be held by Americans.”

She further mentioned that Oracle, a company specializing in software and cloud computing co-founded by Larry Ellison, will handle the platform’s data and privacy. Leavitt also confirmed that the U.S. will maintain control over the app’s algorithm, which determines what content users are exposed to on the platform.

The White House did not immediately provide details on who the six American board members would be or specify who would manage the platform’s algorithm in the U.S.

A representative for TikTok also did not immediately respond to questions about the deal.

Karoline Leavitt.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. would control TikTok’s algorithm. Mandel Ngan / AFP – Getty Images

On Friday, President Donald Trump informed reporters in the Oval Office that the board members who would participate are “all highly recognized individuals, quite famous indeed, especially in financial circles.”

“It’s also controlled by very powerful and very substantial American people, all American, by the way, all American people,” he added.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week announced that the framework for a deal had been reached while he met with Chinese officials in Madrid.

The Trump administration has long sought American control of the social media platform, which has over 170 million users in the U.S.

The app faced a temporary shutdown in the U.S. in January, just before the president’s second term commenced, due to legislation passed last year and enacted by former President Joe Biden, which mandated the app’s sale to a U.S. company unless it was banned.

Before he was sworn in, Trump promised he wouldn’t enforce the penalties stipulated in that law if TikTok continued to operate in the U.S. Trump has since used executive orders several times to extend the temporary reprieve for TikTok.

Still, his administration has pursued the sale of the platform to a U.S.-based company or owner because of national security and data privacy concerns.

U.S. officials have cited concerns about TikTok’s parent company potentially sharing user data with the Chinese government. Officials have also raised concerns about potential manipulation of the platform’s algorithm by the Chinese government for U.S. users.

On Saturday, Leavitt said that the administration is “100% confident that a deal is done.”

“Now, that deal just needs to be signed, and the president’s team is working with their Chinese counterparts to do just that,” she added.

Trump on Friday said he had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jingping about the deal over the phone, telling reporters in the Oval Office that the two “have a very good relationship.”

“The TikTok deal is well on its way, as you know, and the investors are getting ready. And I think China wanted to see it stay open too. They wanted to see it,” he added.

Trump has often credited young voters who use TikTok with helping propel him to victory in 2024.

“A lot of people in this country want it to be open,” Trump said on Friday, speaking about TikTok. “If it weren’t open, maybe, I don’t know. I think we won by so much, it wouldn’t have mattered. But we got a lot of votes. We got a lot of Republican votes from very young people.”

The president also referenced his previous disdain for the app. In 2020, during his first term, Trump even moved to use his executive power to ban the app for national security reasons.

“It’s a great deal for all of the young people in the country that wanted it, and people generally. I was happy with it. Look, I wasn’t a fan of TikTok, and then I got to use it, and I became a fan, and it helped me win the election in a landslide,” he said.

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