Barron Trump expected to hold prominent TikTok position

ISLAMABAD: In a significant development, Barron Trump, the son of US President Donald Trump, is reportedly being considered for a key position among the top officials of a committee that will oversee and partly control the social media platform TikTok, following an executive order signed in Washington last month.

Experts believe that Barron’s potential appointment to a prominent role at TikTok aligns with the US administration’s strategic engagement with the platform. They note that such a move reflects a broader trend of political involvement and social media influence among younger generations.

In an interview with Fox News earlier this year, president Trump also said that his son played a key role in helping win the youth vote by 34 points.

Meanwhile, President Trump posted a TikTok video shortly after the executive order was signed last month. In the clip, he celebrated the decision, claiming, “To all of those young people on TikTok, I saved TikTok, so you owe me big.” In the same video, he added that young users might one day hold the Oval Office, gaining “the exact kind of experience” he has.

US-China TikTok agreement

Under the deal, US investors now hold a majority stake in a newly structured US-based TikTok entity. ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, is expected to retain a minority share. 

The agreement marks a breakthrough in months of tense negotiations between Washington and Beijing, which have sought to ease a prolonged trade standoff that has rattled global markets.

TikTok, with more than 170 million users in the US, had faced the prospect of a ban unless its ownership structure was altered to address security concerns raised by the US government.

“We have a deal on TikTok … We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,” Trump said, without providing further details.

He lauded the trade deal reached with China, calling it an upgrade for both countries, and said it would preserve tens of billions of dollars of value.

“The kids want it so badly, I have parents calling me up. They don’t want it for themselves. They want it for their kids,” Trump said.