Trump signs executive order to transfer TikTok to U.S. owners

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday approving the transfer of TikTok’s U.S. operations from Chinese owner ByteDance to a consortium of American investors, preventing the app from being banned under U.S. national security law.

The deal, valued at $14 billion, follows approval from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Under the agreement, Oracle will lead the U.S. investor group, acquiring roughly 45% of the app’s operations.

Private equity firm Silver Lake, media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan, and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell are also part of the consortium. ByteDance and other Chinese investors will retain less than 20% of TikTok’s U.S. operations.

The new entity will be overseen by a seven-member board, with six members from U.S. investors and one from ByteDance. Oracle will manage TikTok’s cloud infrastructure and recommendation algorithm within the United States to ensure data remains under American control.

Trump described the deal as “tremendous” for the United States, noting that Xi had personally approved the arrangement.

The deal resolves months of uncertainty over TikTok’s future in the U.S., where the app has roughly 180 million users and has been the subject of bipartisan scrutiny over data privacy and national security concerns.

The executive order effectively satisfies requirements of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which could have forced ByteDance to divest or face a nationwide ban. TikTok’s new U.S. structure is expected to be operational before the end of 2025, pending regulatory approvals.

American investors will hold majority control and manage day-to-day operations, marking a rare instance of large-scale foreign divestment in the tech sector. 

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