US TikTok Saved: President Trump finalizes deal to transfer operations to American investors

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order approving a framework agreement to sell the U.S. operations of the social media platform TikTok to a consortium of American investors. The move, announced by the White House, is intended to resolve long-standing national security concerns over the app's control by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, while allowing the popular platform to continue operating for its 170 million U.S. users.

The $14 billion deal structure

The deal, which Vice President JD Vance said values TikTok's U.S. business at $14 billion, will create a new, U.S.-based joint venture with a majority American ownership.

Key details of the framework include:

• Majority U.S. control: American investors, including tech giant Oracle and private equity firm Silver Lake, are set to take a majority stake in the new entity. Overall, American ownership will exceed the 80% threshold required by law.

• ByteDance stake: TikTok's Chinese parent, ByteDance, will retain a minority equity stake of less than 20%, the maximum permitted under the law.

• Security and oversight: Oracle will serve as the trusted security partner, overseeing TikTok's U.S. security operations and providing cloud services. The new company will be governed by a seven-member board of directors, with six of the seats held by American national security and cybersecurity experts.

• The Algorithm: The controversial recommendation algorithm will be transferred to the new entity and retrained exclusively on U.S. user data under American supervision, addressing core fears of foreign manipulation.

A political and diplomatic victory

The executive order postpones enforcement of the previous divest-or-ban law for 120 days to allow the sale to be finalized. The White House is framing the agreement as a significant diplomatic and political victory.

President Trump stated that he had a productive conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who reportedly "gave us the go-ahead" to proceed with the arrangement. Trump emphasized that the deal ensures TikTok U.S. will be "American-operated all the way."

The deal ends months of uncertainty for American users, businesses, and content creators who rely on the platform. The investor lineup includes prominent figures with strong ties to the administration, such as Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, raising questions from critics about the potential for political influence on the app's future content policies.

The administration, however, maintains that the new structure removes TikTok from foreign adversary control, safeguarding American data and national security interests.