President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that would help clear the way for a coalition of investors to run an American version of TikTok, one that is separate from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, so that it can keep operating in the United States.
The administration has been working for months to find non-Chinese investors for a U.S. TikTok company, which Vice President JD Vance said would be valued at $14 billion.
The deal is aimed at helping TikTok comply with a federal law, which banned the app in the United States in January out of concern that Beijing could use it to gain access to Americans’ sensitive data or to spread propaganda. Mr. Trump has delayed enforcement of the ban repeatedly. The Thursday order gives negotiators until mid-January to finalize the deal.
“This deal really does mean that Americans can use TikTok, but actually use it with more confidence than they had in the past,” Mr. Vance said. “Their data is going to be secure and it’s not going to be used as a propaganda weapon against our fellow citizens.”
Mr. Trump said Thursday that the U.S. TikTok investors were “American investors, American companies, great ones, great investors.”
But an Emirati investment firm is expected to join the coalition of companies that will invest in the new American TikTok company, according to two people familiar with the talks.
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