‘Americans to control TikTok US board’: White House on proposed China deal; agreement expected soon

A proposed US-China agreement on TikTok would give Americans a majority on a board overseeing the app’s US operations, the White House said Saturday. “Americans will control six of the seven seats for a planned board,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News, according to the Associated Press.Leavitt added, “We are 100 per cent 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.” Her comments came a day after US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed a TikTok deal in a lengthy phone call.A key issue in ongoing US-China negotiations has been whether TikTok would retain its algorithm following a potential divestment of its China-based parent company, ByteDance.Leavitt noted that “the algorithm will also be controlled by America as well,” offering more detail on how the deal, at least in the eyes of the White House, is taking shape.According to her, tech giant Oracle would be responsible for the app’s data and security. Oracle is led by billionaire Larry Ellison, who briefly became the world’s richest person last week before Elon Musk reclaimed the top spot, pushing Ellison to number 2.

Congress passed legislation mandating a TikTok ban to take effect in January. However, Trump repeatedly signed orders allowing the app to continue operating in the United States while his administration worked to reach an agreement for ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to sell its US operations.Trump-Xi callTrump said that American investors were “lined up” and that Xi had been “a gentleman” about the matter, but he remained vague on whether China would retain control of TikTok’s algorithm. “It’s all being worked out. We’re going to have very good control,” he stated.A statement from the Chinese government following the call did not clarify what Xi had agreed to regarding the sale of a controlling stake by ByteDance, to avoid a US ban. Leavitt expressed confidence that the agreement would be finalised soon. “Now we just need this deal to be signed,” she said. “And that will be happening, I anticipate, in the coming days.”