ByteDance

President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that would allow hugely popular social video app TikTok to continue to operate in the United States.

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, had been under pressure to divest its ownership in the app’s U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban, due to security concerns over the company’s ties to China.

Congress passed legislation calling for a TikTok ban to go into effect in January, but Trump has repeatedly signed orders that have allowed TikTok to keep operating in the country.

Under an agreement that Trump said was approved by China’s President Xi Jinping, TikTok’s U.S. operations will be operated through a joint venture run by a majority-American investor group. ByteDance and its affiliates would hold less than 20% ownership in the venture.

About 170 million Americans use TikTok, known for its viral entertaining videos.

“These safeguards would protect the American people from the misuse of their data and the influence of a foreign adversary, while also allowing the millions of American viewers, creators, and businesses that rely on the TikTok application to continue using it,” Trump stated in his executive order.

Trump, who years ago led the push to ban TikTok from the U.S., said at a press event that he feels the deal satisfies security concerns.

“The biggest reason is that it’s owned by Americans … and people that love the country and very smart Americans, so they don’t want anything like that to happen,” Trump said.

Trump said on Thursday that people involved in the deal include Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, Dell Technologies Chief Executive Michael Dell and media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Vice President JD Vance said the new entity controlling TikTok’s U.S. operations would have a value of around $14 billion.

Murdoch’s involvement would probably entail Fox Corp. investing in the deal, a source familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly told The Times. Fox Corp. owns Fox News, whose opinion hosts are vocally supportive of Trump.

The algorithms and code would be under control of the joint venture. The order requires the storage of sensitive U.S. user data to be under a U.S. cloud computing company.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News last Saturday that the app’s data and privacy in the U.S. would be led by Oracle.

Ellison is a Trump ally who is the world’s second-richest person, according to Forbes.

TikTok already works with Oracle. Since October 2022, “all new protected U.S. user data has been stored in the secure Oracle infrastructure, not on TikTok or ByteDance servers,” TikTok says on its website.

Ellison is also preparing a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, the media company that owns HBO, TNT and CNN, after already completing a takeover of Paramount, one of Hollywood’s original studios.

“The most important thing is it does protect Americans’ data security,” Vance said at a press gathering on Thursday. “What this deal ensures is that the American entity and the American investors will actually control the algorithm. We don’t want this used as a propaganda tool by any foreign government.”

TikTok, which has a large presence in Los Angeles, did not respond to a request for comment.

Terms of the deal are still unclear. Trump discussed the TikTok deal with China’s Xi Jinping in an extended phone call last week. Chinese and U.S. officials have until Dec. 16 to finalize the details.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Another pair of influencers might be joining President Trump’s effort to preserve TikTok in the U.S.: Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch.

The Trump administration has been working on a deal that would keep the wildly popular social video service operational for millions of Americans. Under a law signed by President Biden, TikTok’s U.S. service must separate from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or face going dark.

Congress passed the law out of security concerns over TikTok’s ties to China and worries that the app would give the communist government access to sensitive user data, which TikTok has denied doing.

Trump revealed more details about the plan over the weekend. The president on Sunday told Fox News that people involved in the deal include Oracle Corp. cofounder Larry Ellison, Dell Technologies Chief Executive Michael Dell and, probably, Rupert Murdoch and his eldest son, Lachlan.

“I think they’re going to be in the group, a couple of others, really great people, very prominent people,” Trump said on “The Sunday Briefing” on Fox News. “They’re also American patriots. They love this country, so I think they’re going to do a really good job.”

If the Murdochs were to be involved, it could be through their media company Fox Corp. investing in the deal, according to a source familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly. Fox Corp. owns Fox News, Fox Business and the Fox broadcast network. Fox News’ opinion hosts are vocally supportive of Trump.

The pending agreement would hand over TikTok’s U.S. operations to a majority-American investor group, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Saturday. The app’s data and privacy in the U.S. would be led by Texas-based cloud computing company Oracle, she added.

Oracle’s cofounder and chief technology officer Ellison is a Trump ally who is the world’s second-richest person, according to Forbes. TikTok already works with Oracle. Since October 2022, “all new protected U.S. user data has been stored in the secure Oracle infrastructure, not on TikTok or ByteDance servers,” TikTok says on its website.

Leavitt told Fox News that six out of the seven board seats controlling the TikTok app in the U.S. would be held by Americans and that the app’s algorithm would be controlled by America.

“We are 100% confident that a deal is done,” Leavitt said.

In a Monday news briefing, Leavitt said Trump expected to sign the deal later this week.

ByteDance would retain a less than 20% stake in TikTok U.S. The investor group is still being sorted out, reported CNN, citing a White House official.

The White House, Dell Technologies and Oracle did not immediately return a request for comment. Fox Corp. declined to comment.

TikTok’s future has been uncertain for months since the law was signed. After Biden had signed the 2024 law, ByteDance was initially given a deadline of Jan. 19, which has since been extended several times by Trump. The current deadline is Dec. 16.

Any deal would also need the approval of the Chinese government.

On Friday, Trump suggested on his social media platform Truth Social that China’s president, Xi Jinping, had approved the pact during a call between the two leaders.

Reports cited Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, which quoted Xi as saying the Chinese government “respects the wishes of companies and welcomes them to conduct commercial negotiations based on market rules and reach solutions that comply with Chinese laws and regulations and balance interests.”

ByteDance in a statement on Friday thanked President Xi and President Trump “for their efforts to preserve TikTok in the United States.”

“ByteDance will work in accordance with applicable laws to ensure TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok U.S.,” the company said.

Trump has said he believes TikTok played a key role in helping him reach younger voters and win the 2024 presidential election. During his first term, he was a prominent voice calling for TikTok to be banned during his broader campaign against China over trade and COVID-19.

President Trump said Friday that he has reached a deal with China to keep the popular social video app TikTok running in the U.S.

Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had a “very productive call” Friday morning with China’s President Xi Jinping. TikTok is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, a fact that prompted national security concerns over data protection from U.S. politicians.

He suggested that Xi had approved the planned takeover of TikTok in the U.S., but did not provide details on what the leader’s sign-off entailed.

“We made progress on many very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal,” Trump wrote on Friday.

He added: “The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!”

Trump had signaled earlier this week that an agreement was coming. For months, TikTok’s future had been uncertain in the U.S., due to national security worries about the app’s ties to China. Trump in his social media post did not reveal much detail about the deal, but said earlier this week that TikTok’s operations would be owned by American investors.

“TikTok has tremendous value,” Trump said at a news conference on Thursday, adding the U.S. will be getting a “fee-plus” for making the deal. “I’d rather reap the benefits. The kind of money we are talking about is very substantial. It will be owned by all American investors.”

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that under terms of the deal, TikTok’s U.S. users would migrate to a new version of the app with technology licensed from ByteDance. U.S. user data would be managed in Texas by cloud computing company Oracle, the Journal reported, adding that details of the deal could change as it was still being discussed.

About 80% of a new company running TikTok’s U.S. operations would be owned by American investors, with the remaining amount owned by Chinese shareholders, according to the Journal.

Oracle’s Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison is a Trump ally and the world’s second richest person with an estimated net worth of more than $360 billion, according to Forbes. Ellison is also preparing a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, the media company that owns HBO, TNT and CNN, after already completing a takeover of Paramount, one of Hollywood’s original studios.

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment on the terms of the agreement.

Reports cited a Chinese news agency, which quoted Xi as saying the Chinese government “respects the wishes of companies and welcomes them to conduct commercial negotiations based on market rules and reach solutions that comply with Chinese laws and regulations and balance interests.”

The deal paves a path for TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. after President Joe Biden signed a law that would require ByteDance to divest ownership in the U.S. operations of the app or have TikTok banned in the nation due to security concerns. TikTok denies sharing user data with the Chinese government and says it has not been asked by Beijing to provide such sensitive information.

ByteDance on Friday thanked Xi and Trump “for their efforts to preserve TikTok in the United States.”

“ByteDance will work in accordance with applicable laws to ensure TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok U.S.,” the company said.

The law had initially gave ByteDance a deadline of Jan. 19, but Trump has extended that deadline several times, most recently to Dec. 16.

TikTok has more than 170 million users in the U.S. and is a home for video content creators and businesses. Fans of the app enjoy scrolling through feeds of entertaining short videos.

Some industry observers were skeptical over whether the deal will adequately address Congress’ security concerns.

“There’s just too many loose ends and too many things that could go awry,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond School of Law.

The TikTok agreement comes as the U.S. and China have been dealing with trade talks amid a tariff war.

On Thursday, Trump credited TikTok with helping him win the 2024 presidential election. He had campaigned to try to keep TikTok operational in an appeal to younger voters. He reversed his stance from his first term, in which the Trump administration made moves that could ban the app.

Daniel Keum, an associate professor of management at Columbia Business School, said he doesn’t think much will change after a deal is made. Many creators have already posted their content in other places such as Instagram and YouTube in light of TikTok’s uncertain future, Keum said.

“Even before, as there was so much uncertainty around the fate of TikTok, a lot of other platforms like YouTube and Facebook were co-opting the short reel format, so creators were distributing their content across other platforms,” he said.

TikTok is preparing to release a new app in the U.S. as it awaits a potential sale that would maintain its presence for millions of users in the country, according to media reports.

The popular video app, owned by Chinese technology company ByteDance, is under pressure to sell its U.S. operations by Sept. 17 or face a nationwide ban, due to security concerns raised by U.S. government officials over the firm’s ties to China.

TikTok is planning to make the new app available on Sept. 5, according to tech news site The Information. The existing app could stop working in March 2026 and when that happens, American users would need to download the new app in order to continue to use TikTok, the publication said.

TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.

Analysts expect that the new app will attempt to address the government’s security concerns. Officials have raised the specter of TikTok sharing user data with the Chinese government, which the company denies.

Ray Wang, principal analyst and founder of Constellation Research, said he believes TikTok will remain popular in the U.S. even after a sale. TikTok is used by more than 170 million Americans as a way to entertain and educate themselves by watching videos on the app. Small businesses, influencers and major corporations also post content on TikTok to market products.

“There will be a transition period from the old app to the new app,” Wang said. “The question is how will data be migrated, and I’m sure they will have a solution for that.”

President Trump last month gave a 90-day extension until Sept. 17 to ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations. The original deadline was Jan. 19, after a law was signed by Trump’s predecessor, President Biden, last year, but the deadline has since been extended by Trump several times. TikTok has said that the law “offers no support for the idea” that its Chinese ownership poses national security risks.

Potential buyers of ByteDance’s TikTok U.S. operations include Oracle Corp. (co-founded by billionaire Larry Ellison), Amazon and an investment group led by Frank McCourt, a former Dodgers owner whose bid includes “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, analysts said. San Francisco artificial intelligence company Perplexity said in March that it wants to “rebuild the TikTok algorithm.”

Any deal would need the approval of the Chinese government. Analysts said it is unlikely a sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations would include its algorithm — seen as one of the most valuable parts of TikTok — which surfaces videos of interest to its users.

Trump on Friday told reporters that he planned to discuss a TikTok deal with China this week, but declined to name the potential buyer, according to the New York Times.

“I think the deal is good for China, and it’s good for us,” Trump said. “It’s money, it’s a lot of money.”

Trump’s first administration pushed for a TikTok ban, but the president since had a change of heart. He has met with TikTok executives at Mar-a-Lago, mused about TikTok’s popularity with young people and bragged online about his significant following on the platform.

During his campaign for a second term, Trump positioned himself as a TikTok advocate, saying “those who want to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump.”

Several TikTok creators told The Times that they have diversified where they post their content and believe their fans will follow them to other platforms if TikTok were to be banned.