Questions and potential hurdles surround a framework agreement announced on Monday between the U.S. and China that would switch short-video app TikTok to U.S.-controlled ownership, including whether any deal will comply with a 2024 law.

U.S. and Chinese officials announced the deal in principle in Madrid following trade talks, but did not give details or answer key questions, such as whether China will agree to transfer ownership of the algorithm that makes the app so popular with 170 million Americans.

China on Wednesday called the framework deal a "win-win" and said it would review TikTok's technology exports and intellectual property licensing, in a state media editorial.

Investors on both sides of the Pacific are now waiting for a call scheduled for Friday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, in which the agreement should be confirmed.

What happens to algorithm?

During previous negotiations, Chinese authorities expressed strong reluctance to allow the export of TikTok's recommendation algorithm, widely seen as owner ByteDance's most valuable asset and a key driver of the app's global popularity.

In 2020, when the Trump administration first pushed for a sale of TikTok's U.S. business, China updated its export control rules to cover technologies such as recommendation algorithms, effectively giving the government a say over any transfer.

Wang Jingtao, deputy director of China's Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, told reporters in Madrid on Monday that there was consensus on authorization of "the use of intellectual property rights such as (TikTok's) algorithm" – a main sticking point in the deal.

The sides also agreed on entrusting a partner with handling U.S. user data and content security, Wang said. But while China has agreed that a divested TikTok could use its algorithm, it's uncertain how that would work.

At arguments in the Supreme Court in January, a lawyer for TikTok and ByteDance told the justices how difficult it would be to consummate a deal that complies with the TikTok law, especially since Chinese law restricts the sale of the proprietary algorithm that has made the social media platform wildly successful.

Will deal need Congress approval?

Any agreement could require approval by the Republican-controlled Congress, which passed a law in 2024 requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a ban in the U.S., due to fears that the app's user data could be accessed by the Chinese government and allow Beijing to spy on Americans or conduct influence operations.

TikTok has said that the U.S. never presented evidence that China has attempted to manipulate content on its U.S. platform.

Since the law came into effect, Trump has prolonged the deadline for its enforcement four times, with the last extension announced on Tuesday, keeping TikTok available in the U.S. until Dec. 16 and giving time to complete the deal announced Monday.

Trump has amassed more than 15 million followers on TikTok since he joined last year, and he has credited the trendsetting platform with helping him gain traction among young voters. He said in January that he has a "warm spot for TikTok."

Some Democratic lawmakers argued Trump had no legal authority to extend the deadline and suggested a previous deal under consideration in April would not meet legal requirements.

Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters to Apple, Google and other companies in February that provide services or host TikTok, telling them the Justice Department was relinquishing any claims for potential violations of the law. They were made public in June. A congressional aide told Reuters on Monday that lawmakers plan to scrutinize the latest deal when it is made public to see if it complies with the law.

Will China retain any ownership?

One issue is whether ByteDance will be fully divested from TikTok U.S. after the deal.

Trump responded to a question in an Oval Office press conference on whether China will have a stake in TikTok: "We haven't decided that, but it looks to me and I'm speaking to President Xi on Friday for confirmation."

Senate Intelligence Committee chair Tom Cotton in April said American investors who wanted to buy TikTok must cut all ties with China.

ByteDance's current shareholders include American firms Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic and KKR.

Little is known about what companies are involved and whether the United States would have a stake in TikTok. Oracle Corp. has been floated as a likely buyer for the platform.

If Congress rejects the latest agreement, Trump may have limited recourse. In January, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the law, passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress last year and signed by former Democratic President Joe Biden, did not violate the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protection against government abridgment of free speech.

Who will control TikTok after divestiture?

Officials expect the final deal to be very similar to what was anticipated under the previous deal outlined in April, which would spin off TikTok's U.S. operations into a new U.S.-based firm, majority-owned and operated by U.S. investors.

This stalled after China indicated it would withhold its approval following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods. The precise structure of the new expected ownership remains unclear.

Meanwhile, Americans are even more closely divided on what to do about TikTok than they were two years ago.

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that about one-third of Americans said they supported a TikTok ban, down from 50% in March 2023. Roughly one-third said they would oppose a ban, and a similar percentage said they weren't sure.

Among those who said they supported banning the social media platform, about eight in 10 cited concerns over users' data security being at risk as a major factor in their decision, according to the report.