Trump suggests deal reached over the future of TikTok as he announces call with Xi

President Donald Trump has posted connected his societal media tract that a gathering betwixt the U.S. and Chinese officials went good and that a woody was reached regarding "a 'certain' institution that young radical successful our Country precise overmuch wanted to save."

Trump's remark suggests that the institution is TikTok, the societal media institution associated with China that U.S. instrumentality requires to beryllium sold oregon other cease operations.

The Republican president has repeatedly extended the deadline connected TikTok's destiny and was noncommittal connected an statement erstwhile asked by reporters connected Sunday evening. Trump besides said that helium would beryllium speaking connected Friday with Chinese person Xi Jinping.

There was nary contiguous confirmation from China.

TikTok is 1 of much than 100 apps developed successful the past decennary by ByteDance, a exertion steadfast founded successful 2012 by Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming and headquartered successful Beijing's northwestern Haidian district.

In 2016, ByteDance launched a short-form video level called Douyin successful China and followed up with an planetary mentation called TikTok. It past bought Musical.ly, a lip-syncing level fashionable with teens successful the U.S. and Europe, and combined it with TikTok portion keeping the app abstracted from Douyin.

Soon after, the app boomed successful popularity successful the U.S. and galore different countries, becoming the archetypal Chinese level to marque superior inroads successful the West. Unlike different societal media platforms that focused connected cultivating connections among users, TikTok tailored contented to people's interests.

The often silly videos and euphony clips contented creators posted gave TikTok an representation arsenic a sunny country of the net wherever users could find amusive and a consciousness of authenticity. Finding an assemblage connected the level helped motorboat the careers of euphony artists similar Lil Nas X.

TikTok gained much traction during the shutdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, erstwhile abbreviated dances that went viral became a mainstay of the app. To amended compete, Instagram and YouTube yet came retired with their ain tools for making short-form videos, respectively known arsenic Reels and Shorts. By that point, TikTok was a bona fide hit.

Challenges came successful tandem with TikTok's success. U.S. officials expressed concerns astir the company's roots and ownership, pointing to laws successful China that necessitate Chinese companies to manus implicit information requested by the government. Another interest became the proprietary algorithm that populates what users spot connected the app.