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The Trump administration has reported that they have arrived at to save TikTok access for American users while also maintaining American national security and minimizing foreign influence over the platform’s U.S. algorithm. This deal, once signed by the President, might represent the end of months-long uncertainty about the future of the platform, which is popular with younger Americans. 

U.S.-owned tech company Oracle, founded and chaired by Larry Ellison, will be in control of the TikTok algorithm in the U.S. after the deal is completed, according to reporting by CNN. It should be noted that TikTok’s U.S. presence first came into question after Congress, in bipartisan fashion, signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (), which was signed into law by President Joe Biden on April 24, 2024. The bill, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court as constitutional, established a framework to allow the Commerce Secretary to identify companies and applications with dangerous foreign ties and control mechanisms and institute standards of mitigation to be met, or to ban them if mitigation is not possible nor attempted. 

By having , this deal is seeking to quell concerns of the Communist Party of China (CCP) influencing American TikTok users’ feeds. If the deal goes through as expected, Fox News has reported that a CCP-aligned company, ByteDance, will have to sell a majority of the American share of the company’s operations, and will hold a minority of the board seats–Americans will occupy the majority of seats. A White House official also made it clear that the administration claims that American users to the platform and will still be able to engage with content from around the world on the platform.

It is interesting that in our highly polarized political environment, opposition to TikTok’s foreign control became such a bipartisan cause; both Republicans and Democrats in Congress voted overwhelmingly to force a sale or ban the company from the U.S. Before becoming invested in keeping the platform accessible to American users, President Trump himself supported a ban. Before the announcement of the most recent proposed deal, Trump had already extended the date for compliance with the H.R. 7521 two times over the 90 days allowed by the bill.

So it appears that American access to TikTok is secure for the time being, though the exact legality of the upcoming deal will almost certainly come under congressional and judicial scrutiny. This whole ordeal highlights important questions for American national security and democratic stability as the 21st century marches on: How should algorithms and AI, foreign influence, and social media be regulated? And how will the interplay between parties, branches of government, and private corporations help determine the answer to that question? While TikTok is safe for now, the months and years ahead will be full of surprises.