US President Donald Trump signed a decree allowing the sale of US assets of the TikTok platform to a group of investors from the US. According to Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping approved the deal, which will allow the platform to continue operating in the US.
“Oracle and its co-founder Larry Ellison will play a very big role in terms of security, protection and everything else,” the US president said, commenting on the composition of the consortium that will control the social network.
US Vice President JD Vance reported that the deal is valued at $14 billion.
“This agreement ensures that American investors will effectively control the content algorithm,” the vice president added, stressing that it will protect Americans’ personal data and prevent the spread of foreign government propaganda.
As stated in Trump’s executive order on the White House website, TikTok will undergo a “qualified divestment” and American assets will no longer be under the control of a foreign adversary. The social network will be managed by a newly created joint venture, and the share of Chinese ByteDance will not exceed 20%. The rest of the shares will belong to certain investors.
According to the decree, the new joint venture will be responsible for algorithms and code, moderate TikTok content, and confidential data of Americans cannot be stored in a way that could fall under the control of a foreign adversary. Trusted US security partners will monitor software updates, algorithms and data streams.
Trump noted that about 170 million Americans use TikTok, many content creators make a living from the app, and numerous American companies use it for advertising.
Recall that the law signed last year by President Joe Biden required TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app to a non-Chinese owner by January 19, 2025. On January 17, the US Supreme Court unanimously upheld a law that effectively banned TikTok from operating in the US unless the app was sold to an American company.
