U.S. President Donald Trump today signed an executive order approving a deal that would see TikTok’s U.S. operations largely sold off, reports CNBC. The deal would allow TikTok to comply with U.S. law requiring the social media service to be sold to a non-Chinese company or be banned from operating in the country.
A joint-venture company that includes Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu-Dhabi-based MGX investment fund will oversee TikTok’s U.S. operations, with TikTok parent company ByteDance retaining less than 20 percent of the company. The joint-venture group will control a 45 percent stake in TikTok, while ByteDance investors and new stakeholders will hold 35 percent.
Oracle will oversee TikTok’s security operations and will provide cloud computing services for the U.S. TikTok company. The deal suggests that ByteDance will lease a copy of its algorithm to the U.S. TikTok shareholders, with the algorithm to be “retrained and monitored” by Oracle.
“It’s owned by Americans, and very sophisticated Americans,” Trump said of the deal, which still needs to be officially approved by China.
TikTok’s U.S. operations will be valued at $14 billion, according to U.S. Vice President JD Vance. The number is less than half of previous estimates of TikTok’s U.S. value. According to CNBC, no ByteDance representatives were at the signing of the order, and there is no indication the Chinese government has changed its stance on approving a deal. China previously said that it would not approve the sale of TikTok, but Trump claims that Chinese President Xi Jinping verbally approved the deal during “a good talk.”
TikTok has technically been banned in the United States since January 19 due to the passing of the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act in 2024. Trump has repeatedly delayed enforcement of TikTok’s ban, preventing the U.S. Department of Justice from going after companies that continue to distribute the TikTok app.
The act requires TikTok to be sold to a non-Chinese company or cease operating in the U.S., and with the executive order, Trump has declared that his deal complies with the law. It is unclear if Congress will agree.
ByteDance and the U.S. investors have 120 days to close the deal, so it will need to be completed by the end of January 2026.
This article, “TikTok Sale Gains Momentum as Trump Signs Executive Order Approving Deal” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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