After months of high-stakes posturing, leaked frameworks, and shifting deadlines, a domestic TikTok ownership deal may be closer to reality. But details of the arrangement from both sides of the Pacific are sparse, leaving room for lingering national security, legality, and free speech concerns.

On Sept. 25, President Donald Trump signed an executive order clearing the way for the transfer of TikTok’s U.S. operations to an American-heavy consortium, presumably before the congressional divest-or-ban law extension expires in December.