{"id":20951,"date":"2025-09-21T01:29:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T01:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=20951"},"modified":"2025-09-21T01:29:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T01:29:06","slug":"roundup-tiktok-deal-music-streamer-showdown-fed-cut-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=20951","title":{"rendered":"Roundup: TikTok Deal, Music Streamer Showdown, Fed Cut and More"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Is the TikTok drama about to end for U.S. users?<\/span><\/h2>\n
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The clock has been ticking on TikTok\u2019s future in the United States for more than five years now, but the saga may soon be over.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On Tuesday, the White House announced that a \u201cframework\u201d for a deal to allow the hugely popular social media app to continue operating in the U.S. was imminent. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping talked by phone on Friday to further discuss the TikTok deal and other matters.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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While no breakthrough was announced, Trump said the call \u201cwas a very good one\u201d on his social media platform, Truth Social, and the Chinese ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, posted on X that the \u201cconversation was pragmatic, positive and constructive.\u201d The two countries now have until Dec. 16 to finalize a deal. In the meantime, TikTok steams blissfully ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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TikTok<\/span> is currently owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company, and reportedly has more than 2 billion registered users globally.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The app\u2019s Chinese ownership is what sparked national security concerns during Trump\u2019s first term. Those concerns have included the collection of Americans\u2019 personal data, and that the presence of TikTok on so many phones creates a risk that China could inject malicious software onto U.S. devices.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In first taking aim at ByteDance in 2020, Trump cited \u201ccredible evidence that leads me to believe that ByteDance \u2026 might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.\u201d Since then TikTok has been the subject of numerous executive orders and legislative action.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The TikTok timeline<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Trump issued his first executive orders over TikTok in August 2020, including one that gave ByteDance 90 days to divest itself of any assets supporting the app\u2019s U.S. operations. TikTok immediately sued over the order. In the end, no further action was taken during Trump\u2019s first term, and incoming President Joe Biden didn\u2019t initially pursue the matter when he took office in January 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Concerns about TikTok began to surface again in 2023, though, and culminated in a sell-or-ban bill signed by Biden in April 2024, setting Jan. 19, 2025 as the deadline. TikTok sued again, and the Supreme Court upheld the law in a ruling on Jan. 17, 2025. The app went dark in the U.S. for about 14 hours on Jan. 18 and 19. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Trump, who took office the next day, had become a fan of TikTok over the course of the 2024 campaign, praising its ability to reach young voters (\u201cI like TikTok. It helped me get elected,\u201d he said during a press conference this week in the U.K.). One of the first of his initial volley of day-one actions was an executive order extending the sell-or-ban deadline for 75 days. He has extended the ban several times, most recently on Tuesday, with the current deadline set to Dec. 16.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So what happens next? <\/span><\/h3>\n
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Details of the deal are still being hammered out, and negotiations are happening within the context of broader trade conversations. The Wall Street Journal and other sources have reported that a consortium of U.S. firms would hold 80% of the shares of a new U.S. company operating the app here, with Chinese shareholders owning the rest. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It has also been reported that the new company would continue to use the current ByteDance algorithm, leading to concern from some lawmakers. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In short, TikTok users are unlikely to see any changes as a result of the deal.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Who uses TikTok?<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Short answer: Young people use TikTok. According to a 2024 study from Pew Research:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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