President Donald Trump posts TikTok video taking credit for allowing social media platform to operate in US

United States President Donald Trump posted a video on Monday morning on TikTok and told the viewers that he ‘saved’ the video-sharing app. “To all of those young people of TikTok, I saved TikTok, so you owe me big. And now, you're looking at me in the Oval Office. And someday, one of you is going to be sitting right at this desk and you are going to be doing a great job,” he said.

TikTok’s legal troubles in US

According to the BBC, TikTok has 170 million users in the United States. However, the video-based social media platform ran into troubled waters during President Joe Biden’s term.

As per the BBC report, the US Congress passed a law in April 2024 requiring ByteDance, the app's China-based owner, to sell the app to a company approved by the US government. This move was prompted by serious concerns over user privacy and data stealing.

The US Congress had given a nine-month deadline to ByteDance to find a buyer, but this was extended when President Trump took office in January this year.

Also read: TikTok gets its Indonesian operating license back after giving government data from protests

New deal on the anvil

Last month, Reuters reported that a potential buyer for the social media app has been found, with the efforts of both the US and Chinese governments. On 25 September, President Trump signed an executive order that will facilitate the sale of TikTok’s US operations to a group of American investors.

Vice President JD Vance informed the press about the developments during a briefing in the Oval Office.

“There was some resistance on the Chinese side, but the fundamental thing that we wanted to accomplish is that we wanted to keep TikTok operating, but we also wanted to make sure that we protected Americans' data privacy as required by law,” he said, as per Reuters.

The company that will be formed to govern TikTok’s US operations is estimated to be worth $14 million, the VP informed.

FAQs

Did President Donald Trump actually ‘save’ TikTok?

President Trump extended the deadline given to TikTok’s Chinese owners to sell their US operations to a US-approved entity. Following this, the Trump administration also engaged with the Chinese leadership at the highest level to facilitate the transition.

What were the legal hurdles faced by TikTok?

Due to concerns about data safety and privacy, the US Congress passed a law requiring TikTok’s owners to sell the company to a US-approved entity within a nine-month deadline. President Trump extended the deadline to allow negotiations to continue.

How many users of TikTok are there in the US?

TikTok has around 170 million users in the USA.