Deal Reached On Tiktok: Early Analysis From Chatham House Experts

Deal reached on TikTok: Early analysis from Chatham House experts Expert comment jon.wallace 23 January 2026

Chatham House analysts give their initial reaction and insights following the announcement that a deal to create a new US TikTok entity has been agreed.

On 23 January Chinese firm Bytedance, owners of the social media platform TikTok, announced that a deal had been reached to create a new US-owned TikTok entity. In a statement, TikTok said the deal would allow ‘more than 200 million Americans and 7.5 million businesses to continue to discover, create, and thrive as part of TikTok’s vibrant global community and experience’.

The deal ends years of hearings, regulatory battles and high-level talks between US and Chinese officials. 

In a message posted on the TikTok platform President Donald Trump said: ‘To all of those young people of TikTok, I saved TikTok, so you owe me big.’ The Chinese government has not commented on the agreement.

Here Chatham House experts offer early analysis on the implications of the deal.

Alex Krasodomski, Programme Director, Digital Society Programme

‘The TikTok deal, formally splitting its US app from the global business, is now signed. The separation confirms US majority ownership, domestic data storage and operational control. 

‘As it started life in China, TikTok faced particular scrutiny in the US for the kinds of content users were seeing. That power is now in the hands of non-Chinese investors, some of whom have close ties to President Trump, leading to fears that the platform will be used to drive a sympathetic political agenda. Similar accusations have been levelled at X, a platform that also changed hands in recent years.

‘Europeans who have previously voiced concerns about TikTok’s vulnerability to manipulation by hostile powers will be watching the deal closely: since X changed hands in 2022, EU regulators have repeatedly accused X of falling short of their standards. 

‘Politics starts on social media, and TikTok today has a formative role in how its users see the world. That it is now co-owned by what President Trump has celebrated as “Great American Patriots” will be a comfort to some – but may worry those concerned about the further politicization of online spaces.’

Rowan Wilkinson, Research Associate, Digital Society Programme:

‘US ownership of TikTok does not solve the democratic vulnerabilities of the global information ecosystem. The deal puts TikTok squarely into the middle of the US political battle and there are fears that any rise in polarizing content will spill into the feeds of its users around the world.’

James Kynge, Senior Research Fellow for China and the World, Asia-Pacific Programme

‘The most interesting aspect of this deal is that TikTok has made efforts unprecedented for a Chinese company (Chinese parent in any case) in a foreign market to reduce cyber risks. 

‘It’s unclear if this is a template that could or will be followed by other Chinese companies in the US, Europe and elsewhere. But it shows a willingness at least to take on board the issues of reducing cyber risks and adhering to national rules.

‘Many other Chinese companies collect data from other countries – such as all the EV companies and cellular module companies, not to mention the wind power companies. They might now find an increasing insistence from their host countries for greater control of data, so as to increase data security.

‘Although the algorithm will remain under the control of Bytedance, the US version of TikTok will be trained on US content. The supervision mechanisms for this accommodation are unclear, but sound less than watertight, because there will be continued coordination on technical issues between Bytedance and US TikTok’.