A deal to transfer TikTok's U.S. operations under the control of domestic investors has to be finalized by December 16, marking the deadline set for ByteDance and its international partners to restructure the app's operations in order to continue serving its massive U.S. user base.
TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and a group of international investors now have to finalize the deal separating the app's U.S. assets. Without an agreement, the app risks losing access to its largest market.
U.S. President Donald Trump initially pushed to ban TikTok, but used the platform during his 2024 election campaign to connect with younger voters. In September, he extended the deadline for a fourth time.
Trump said that American investors are taking over the platform and will run it with high-level expertise. He noted that tech giant Oracle and its CTO and executive chair Larry Ellison are expected to play a major role in managing the app's security and safety.
Other reported investors include U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake and MGX, a state-backed fund from Abu Dhabi.
The U.S. government has expressed long-standing concerns over user data security, while TikTok has maintained that it protects user privacy.
China has said it supports a solution that satisfies both parties and complies with Chinese law.
TikTok faces U.S. ownership deadline
TikTok faces U.S. ownership deadline
The inaugural International Forum on Mutual Learning Among Civilizations opened in China's Macao Special Administrative Region on Tuesday, attracting over 300 participants.
The forum, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, brings together representatives of government and international organizations, and leading experts from around the world to have dialog and academic exchanges.
Under the theme of "Mutual Learning among Civilizations, Inheritance and Development," the conference features two parallel sub-forums -- "Mutual Learning among Civilizations and Diverse Coexistence" and "Conservation and Sustainable Development of Cultural Heritage"-- alongside a series of academic salons. It will also feature nearly 20 keynote speeches and discussions.
At the forum, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR government O Lam highlighted Macao's historical role as a bridge between civilizations.
"This is Macao, strong in a gentle mood, adhering to tradition in fashion, maintaining peace, harmony, courtesy and integrity. Human civilization has never advanced without exchanges and mutual learning. Macao's recent history of five centuries stands as a living record of the harmonious coexistence and common development of Chinese and Western civilizations. Here, there has been no clash of civilizations, only cultural convergence; no hierarchy of values, only dialog on an equal footing. Macao, with its history of integration of Chinese and Western civilizations, offers practical evidence, and will continue to evidence that the old logic of zero-sum game is unsustainable, while cooperation and harmony represent the true direction of human civilization," she said.
Qian Chengdan, professor of history from Peking University, also underscored the importance of civilizational diversity.
"Diversity of civilizations is among the most fundamental and vital attributes of humankind. It is hard to imagine a world with only one civilization, one voice. If there were only one single civilization and one single voice, mutual learning among civilizations will be out of the question," he said.
Macao hosts inaugural International Forum on Mutual Learning Among Civilizations
