The White House joins Tiktok amid national security concerns
The White House has launched a Tiktok account as President Donald Trump praises the app for attracting young voters in the 2024 presidential election.
President Donald Trump has indicated that a contract has been reached to resolve issues with China-based ownership in Tiktok just days before the next ban on social media platforms.
“We’ve also reached a deal for a ‘specific’ company that our country’s youth wanted to save. They will be very happy! ” Trump wrote in a Truth Social Post shortly after 8am on September 15th.
Trump also said he will speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, September 19th, adding that their relationship is “very strong.”
At a trade conference with Chinese authorities in Madrid, Spain, US trade representative Jamieson Greer said the framework agreement would be to switch apps to US-based ownership on a per-Reuters basis.
“We believe there is an agreement. It’s only subject to leadership approval,” Greer said.
Tiktok faces an uncertain future in the United States, facing a looming ban caused by concerns over data sharing with China. The latest ban deadline, the third extension of Trump, is set to expire on September 17th.
Greer says there is no “repeat expansion” in the ban on Tiktok.
After Trump reached the app’s contract, Greer confirmed on a per Reuters basis that there will be no further extensions to the ban period.
“We’re not going to be a business that’s repeatedly expanding,” Greer said. “We have a deal. If you need an extension just to sign, that’s one thing, but there’s no extension in progress.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent said the deal was “between two private parties” and refused to talk about the commercial terms of the transaction, but he said it was “agreed.”
Bessent also said the meeting will focus on Tiktok rather than negotiations.
“We had a very good discussion. We preferred to continue our discussion about Tiktok. We will hold trade negotiations again in another location in about a month,” Bescent said.
Why are there concerns about Tiktok’s ownership?
Some government officials have raised concerns that Tiktok, owned by the Beijing-based company’s ordinance, poses a national security threat due to the possibility of data sharing with China. Tiktok repeatedly denied these claims.
After continuing uncertainty about the future of apps in the US, Tiktok went dark in less than 24 hours in January, under the law signed into law by former President Joe Biden.
Since returning online, Trump has extended the app’s ban three times, with the latest deadline set to expire on September 17th.
For months, Trump has said negotiations to sell Tiktok continues with China.
Contributions: Reuters; Gretacross, USA Today
Melina Kahn is a national trending reporter for USA Today. She can be contacted at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
