Trump Signs US TikTok Deal

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to split off TikTok from ByteDance. This would allow US investors to hold a majority stake in the new entity.

Trump recently reached an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping to allow TikTok to continue operating in the US after it previously faced a ban due to national security concerns. Abu Dhabi-based investment company MGX, Oracle, and private equity company Silver Lake reportedly each have a 15% stake in TikTok US. ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent, will own 19.9%, while ByteDance investors and new holders will own the remaining 35%.

Additional investors include Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan, and Michael Dell, the CEO of Dell computers. The seven-member board of directors, six of them US citizens, will include cybersecurity and national security experts. US Vice President JD Vance stated that TikTok US will be valued at $14 billion.

“This deal really does mean Americans can use TikTok but actually use it with more confidence than they had in the past because their data is secure and it won’t be used as a propaganda weapon like it has in the past,” Vance said. Trump, however, did not confirm the full roster of new owners for TikTok US.

The status of TikTok in the US has been uncertain ever since Congress passed a law in 2024 mandating ByteDance to sell TikTok to US entities. The US Supreme Court upheld the law requiring the sale or ban of TikTok on 17 January. The Trump administration has repeatedly delayed its deadline for ByteDance to divest its US operations or face a nationwide ban. Since January, the deadline has been extended four times. Trump credits TikTok’s young users with helping him get elected to his second term last year after he opposed it in his first term.