日本語
한국어
Tiếng Việt
简体中文
Washington D.C. – President Donald Trump has officially signed an executive order outlining the terms of a landmark deal to transfer the popular social media platform TikTok to American ownership. This decisive action, announced Thursday, aims to resolve escalating national security concerns and ensures the app’s continued operation within the United States.
The agreement, forged through discussions between President Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping, mandates a significant divestiture. It will effectively separate TikTok from its current Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Under the executive order, U.S. investors are set to acquire a majority stake, estimated at approximately 65% of the newly formed American entity. ByteDance and other Chinese investors will retain a minority share, less than 20%.
Key Details of the Divestiture
A pivotal aspect of the deal involves the transfer of a licensed copy of TikTok’s powerful recommendation algorithm to the U.S. entity. This highly influential algorithm is central to the app’s user experience and engagement. The new American-controlled TikTok will be overseen by a seven-member board of directors, comprising cybersecurity and national security experts, with six of these positions held by Americans. White House officials have explicitly stated that this arrangement will safeguard U.S. user data, preventing access by ByteDance or Chinese authorities.
The valuation of the new U.S. TikTok company is projected at $14 billion. This figure stands in stark contrast to ByteDance’s overall valuation, which is estimated to be around $330 billion.
Oracle Leads American Investor Consortium
Leading the charge among American investors is the U.S. software giant Oracle. The company will assume responsibility for TikTok’s U.S. operations, providing crucial cloud services for user data storage. Furthermore, Oracle will secure the license to control the app’s core recommendation algorithm. President Trump highlighted additional prominent investors involved in the deal, including Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and Dell computers CEO Michael Dell, commending them as “great investors.” More specifics regarding the investor group are anticipated in the coming days.
Resolving National Security Concerns and Legal Limbo
This executive order brings an end to months of legal and political uncertainty for TikTok, an application utilized by approximately 180 million people nationwide. The platform had faced bipartisan scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers due to concerns over potential data privacy breaches and allegations that the Chinese government could leverage the app for propaganda or to undermine American democracy. Despite TikTok’s repeated denials, Congress had overwhelmingly voted last year to compel ByteDance to find an American buyer or face a ban within the country.
The Supreme Court upheld this ban in January. However, President Trump, on his first day in office, signed an executive order postponing its enforcement, a delay he extended multiple times. The recently issued “Saving TikTok” executive order explicitly states that the deal complies with the law passed by Congress, qualifies as a “divestiture,” and effectively “resolves” existing national security concerns. The full divestiture from ByteDance is expected to be finalized within 120 days.
President Trump’s Perspective and Political Ramifications
At the press conference, President Trump emphasized the comprehensive American control over the platform, asserting, “This is going to be American-operated all the way.” When questioned about potential prioritization of “Maga-related” content, Trump humorously expressed his personal preference but assured that “Every group will be treated fairly,” indicating a continuation of diverse content recommendations.
This move underscores the Trump administration’s broader strategy to influence the tech industry, following a recent 10% stake in chipmaker Intel and persistent calls for companies like Apple and Nvidia to increase domestic investments.
Financial Implications and Prior Communications
While President Trump had previously suggested the U.S. government would receive a “tremendous fee-plus” for facilitating the deal, he later clarified that the financial benefit would primarily stem from ordinary taxes collected from the new company. The groundwork for this significant agreement was laid earlier in the month, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China’s top trade negotiator Li Chengang confirming a framework following high-level talks in Madrid. President Trump himself had alluded to the impending deal on Truth Social, promising that “young people in our Country very much want to save [this company]. They will be very happy!” He also acknowledged the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk for encouraging his engagement with the social media platform.