President Donald Trump's plan to sell TikTok's U.S. operations to American investors is facing renewed scrutiny after a congressional lawmaker warned that any licensing deal giving China-based ByteDance leverage over the app's algorithm would pose a national security risk.
Lawmaker Warns Against ByteDance's Algorithm Control
House China Chair John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chair of the House Select Committee on China, said Thursday that he has requested a detailed briefing on the proposed TikTok sale after reports that the new U.S. owners may license the algorithm from ByteDance, reported Reuters.
"I think anytime you have (China) with leverage over the algorithm, I think that’s a problem," Moolenaar said at a Hudson Institute event.
He added that the deal remains "a work in progress" and questioned whether the technology could be safely reprogrammed.
Moolenaar said that Washington cannot allow Beijing to retain any influence over TikTok's recommendation system, which shapes the content seen by 170 million American users.
Trump-Approved TikTok Sale Grants US Investors Majority Control
Trump signed an executive order on Sept. 25 approving the plan to sell TikTok's U.S. assets to a consortium of domestic and global investors.
The deal gives the group 120 days—until Jan. 20, 2025—to finalize the transaction.
The order states that the algorithm will be retrained and monitored by U.S.-approved security partners, with oversight by a new joint venture where Americans will hold six of seven board seats, the report noted.
ByteDance's stake would be capped below 20%.
Earlier this month, Trump posted a video on TikTok saying, “To all of those young people of TikTok, I saved TikTok, so you owe me big.” This marked his first TikTok post since the 2024 election.
Vice President JD Vance also returned to TikTok and posted videos celebrating the platform's "U.S.-owned" revival.
Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC Summit on Oct. 31.
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