University of St. Thomas Law Journal

From Ban to Bargain: Resolving TikTok’s National Security Concerns Amid a Tense US-China Relationship 

Frankie Weiss* 

TikTok, one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, earns its name by fixating its users to one short clip after another, turning minutes into hours. The video creation and sharing platform has invaded the daily clock of over 1.5 billion people across the globe.1 The United States is the top consumer, amassing over 135 million users—more than any other country.2 While TikTok provides Americans with harmless video interaction, the US government fears what lies behind the screens. The app has created national security concerns due to its potential ties with China, a known adversary to the United States. As a remedy, the US government seeks to sever China’s control over American users’ data and its ability to deploy propaganda tactics through an ultimatum: Either ByteDance divests its stakes in TikTok, or the app’s use will become banned in the US.3 While a deal to divest TikTok will help mitigate national security concerns, the tumultuous relationship between the world’s two largest economies puts a question mark on when this deal would occur. 

Public concern about TikTok’s threat to US national security can be linked back to the summer of 2020 during the first Trump administration. On August 6 of that year, Trump signed an executive order banning any transactions between TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, Ltd., and US citizens due to national security reasons.4 Although Trump began his leave of absence from the White House shortly thereafter, concerns about TikTok’s national security threat continued, leading then-President Joe Biden to sign the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) into law in April 2024.5 Passed with considerable support by Congress and being upheld by the Supreme Court, PAFACA “grants the government the authority to ban foreign-owned apps that it deems a threat to national security.”6 

With Trump entering his second term, the Biden administration passed the torch back to Trump, who instantly made his intentions to broker a TikTok deal clear. On his first day back he signed an executive order delaying the ban, which was set to take place the day prior, for seventy-five days.7 This delay was extended three more times, most recently on September 16, 2025 for an additional ninety days.8 Continuing to extend the ban—totaling now at nine months—has allowed the Trump administration to finalize a deal that creates a new US company to run TikTok in America.9 The heart of this plan includes a group of billionaire investors who are willing to serve a pivotal role for this new joint venture.10 The core group involves several well-known names, including Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle; Rupert Murdoch, founder and current Chair Emeritus of both Fox Corporation and News Corp.; and Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies.11 The deal, which is valued at $14 billion,12 will resolve very important corporate governance structures and control over TikTok’s algorithm in the US’s favor. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared that the new US based TikTok company will contain seven board seats, six of which will be occupied by Americans.13 Along with board control, the proposed deal will give American investors a 45 percent equity stake with ByteDance retaining less than 20 percent.14 Further, perhaps the most important aspect of the deal, the algorithm that is currently used to run TikTok’s applications will be controlled by America instead of by China based ByteDance.15 These resolutions would allow American users to continue enjoying the app while mitigating national security risks over China’s control on user data and algorithmic manipulation for propaganda influence. 

Trump’s efforts to strike a TikTok deal come amid an already tense relationship with the Chinese government. The US and China are currently engaged in a fierce trade war, which was sparked after Trump announced levies on numerous countries on “Liberation Day” back in April 2025.16 Of all the targeted countries, China was arguably pressured the most, facing US tariffs that reached 145 percent after a back-and-forth rate hiking match between the two countries.17 Despite their differences, President Trump and China’s President, Xi Jinping, met face-to-face at a high stakes summit in South Korea on October 30, 2025, to discuss resolutions on the tariffs and other trade topics.18 Also on the list of talking points: getting Xi Jinping’s official approval to transfer ownership of TikTok. However, while breakthrough deals regarding tariff rates, rare-earth minerals, US soybeans, and AI chips were struck, neither party has mentioned any deal regarding TikTok since the meeting took place.19 

The two presidents ending their talks without finalizing a sale of TikTok’s US operations came as a surprise to analysts familiar with the deal.20 Anticipation for China’s approval at the summit can be linked to earlier remarks made by Trump and US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent. On September 25, 2025, Trump signed an executive order greenlighting the sale of TikTok.21 After signing the order, Trump stated he had spoken to Xi Jinping who verbally gave his approval for the deal.22 A month later on October 26, Bessent said the countries reached a deal for TikTok with “all the details [] ironed out, and that will be for the two leaders to consummate that transaction on Thursday in Korea.”23 Assurances like these explain why so many people were left sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the deal to be put to paper. However, some positive but vague comments about the deal were made after the meeting from China’s Commerce Ministry who stated, “China will work with the US to properly resolve issues related TikTok.”24 This comment begs the question about whether Xi Jinping was satisfied with Trump’s proposed terms of the deal. If not, the TikTok sale could be postponed, especially if China starts to negotiate for more favorable terms. 

The protracted saga of TikTok’s fate in the US underscores the interplay between national security concerns, technological sovereignty, and geopolitical leverage in an era of escalating US-China tensions. What began as a straightforward ultimatum under PAFACA has evolved into a sophisticated negotiation, involving many high-profile individuals and companies to help afford the $14 billion valuation. While the deal would create a US controlled entity with American-majority governance and algorithmic oversight, the two presidents choosing not to finalize the deal during their recent trade negotiations puts the deal’s terms in question. Should the deal falter, it risks reigniting TikTok’s ban in the US and exacerbating hostilities between the two countries—reminding the world that in the battle for data dominance, short-form videos are merely the opening act in a much larger geopolitical drama. 

*Frankie Weiss, J.D. Candidate, University of St. Thomas School of Law, Class of 2026 (Senior Editor). 

  1. Shubham Singh, How Many People Use TikTok (Active Users Stats 2025), Demandsage (Sep. 12, 2025), https://www.demandsage.com/tiktok-user-statistics/ [perma.cc/AVE4-LHKQ]. ↩︎
  2. Id. ↩︎
  3. Olivia Powell, The US TikTok Ban – A Full Timeline, tom’s guide: VPNs (Sep. 23, 2025), https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/vpns/the-us-tiktok-ban-a-full-timeline [perma.cc/EH5C-NYKS]. ↩︎
  4. Exec. Order No. 13,942, 85 Fed. Reg. 48637 (Aug. 6, 2020) (revoked by Exec. Order No. 14,034, 86 Fed. Reg. 31423 (June 9, 2021)). ↩︎
  5. Lana Wynn, Impending TikTok Ban Fails to Address The Threats It Seeks To Solve and Threatens First Amendment Values in the Process, Geo. L. Tech. Rev. (May 2024), https://georgetownlawtechreview.org/impending-tiktok-ban-fails-to-address-the-threats-it-seeks-to-solve-and-threatens-first-amendment-values-in-the-process/GLTR-05-2024/#:~:text=Impending%20TikTok%20ban%20fails%20to,Amendment%20values%20in%20the%20process [https://perma.cc/62BB-XMXQ]. ↩︎
  6. Rachel Treisman, A TikTok Ban Could Hit the U.S. in Days. What to Know – and How to Prepare, NPR (Jan. 13, 2025, at 03:25 ET), https://www.npr.org/2025/01/13/nx-s1-5258151/tiktok-ban-us-impact-prepare-workaround [perma.cc/5PXZ-LZRQ]; TikTok v. Garland, 604 U.S. 56, 80 (2025). ↩︎
  7. Exec. Ord. No. 14,166, 90 Fed. Reg. 8611 (Jan. 20, 2025). ↩︎
  8. Exec. Ord. No. 14,350, 90 Fed. Reg. 45903 (Sep. 16, 2025). ↩︎
  9. Lauren Irwin, TikTok Deal Has Been Finalized, Trump Administration Says, yahoo!news, (Oct. 27, 2025, at 16:13 CDT), https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/tiktok-deal-finalized-trump-administration-211301940 [perma.cc/YA8M-XYH2]. ↩︎
  10. Private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment fund MGX are also among the key investors involved with the TikTok US deal. Phoebe Liu, Thomas Gallagher, Monica Hunter-Hart, John Hyatt & Chase Peterson-Withorn, The Web of Billionaire Pals, Partners and Trump Supporters Taking Control of TikTok U.S., Forbes (Sep. 25, 2025, at 18:00 EDT), https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeswealthteam/2025/09/25/the-web-of-billionaire-pals-partners-and-trump-supporters-taking-control-of-tiktok-us/ [perma.cc/M52W-ZW5E]. ↩︎
  11. Id. ↩︎
  12. Id. ↩︎
  13. Ben Johansen, US Will Control TikTok’s Algorithm Under Deal, White House Says, POLITICO (Sep. 20, 2025, at 13:36 EDT), https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/20/trump-tiktok-sale-algorithm-00574348 [perma.cc/9HHM-TFQ2]. ↩︎
  14. Liu et al., supra note 10. ↩︎
  15. Johansen, supra note 13.  ↩︎
  16. Osmond Chia, Trade, Tariffs and TikTok: Why it Matters that Trump and Xi Are Talking Again, BBC (Oct. 30, 2025), https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c986j98qmj1o [perma.cc/QX2S-ZGAV]. ↩︎
  17. Id. ↩︎
  18. Id. ↩︎
  19. Kathryn Watson, Here’s What Trump Says He and Xi Agreed to in Their Meeting, CBS News (Oct. 30, 2025, at 17:46 EDT), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/heres-what-trump-says-he-and-xi-agreed-to-in-their-meeting/ [perma.cc/FNF2-S6HX]. ↩︎
  20. Chia, supra note 16. ↩︎
  21. Exec. Ord. No. 14,352, 90 Fed. Reg. 47219 (Sep. 25, 2025). ↩︎
  22. Jeff Mason, Dawn Chmielewski & David Shepardson, Trump Signs Order Declaring TikTok Sale Ready and Values at $14 Billion, Reuters (Sep. 26, 2025), https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-signs-order-declaring-tiktok-sale-plan-meets-us-requirements-2025-09-25/ [https://perma.cc/8LMP-FJSB]. ↩︎
  23. Kaia Hubbard, TikTok Deal to be Finalized Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Says, CBS News (Oct. 26, 2025, at 11:41 EDT), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiktok-deal-finalized-treasury-secretary-scott-bessent/ [perma.cc/A7LE-ZTCR]. ↩︎
  24. Barbara Ortutay, China Says it Will Work With U.S. to Resolve TikTok Issues After Trump-Xi Meeting, PBS (Oct. 30, 2025, at 10:53 EST), https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/china-says-it-will-work-with-u-s-to-resolve-tiktok-issues-after-trump-xi-meeting [perma.cc/P9U3-R6UU]. ↩︎

From Ban to Bargain: Resolving TikTok’s National Security Concerns Amid a Tense US-China Relationship

By Frankie Weiss

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