In a major development in global tech and national security, Donald Trump has approved the TikTok US deal, paving the way for Oracle and Silver Lake to lead the takeover of TikTok’s American operations. US President Donald Trump endorsed a landmark deal that will enable TikTok to continue operating in the United States under American control, ending decades of political and legal turmoil regarding the Chinese-owned app.
The agreement creates a new US-controlled entity in which Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX fund will collectively hold about 45% of TikTok’s American business. ByteDance will retain a minority stake of under 20%.
TikTok US Deal — What You Need to Know
Oracle will be in charge of TikTok’s app security and cloud services, an important US regulator requirement.
Anchor investors are referred to as Silver Lake and MGX.
One board seat is retained by ByteDance, and six US-nominated directors who will be running TikTok’s US operations.
Other ByteDance investors including Susquehanna International, General Atlantic, and KKR also retain their investor status.
Why the US Pushed for the Sale
The agreement came after a 2024 national security law forced ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations or face a ban. US feared, Beijing might utilize the app’s 170 million users’ data for surveillance or manipulation.
Trump signed an executive order to provide TikTok with 120 days to effect the divestiture. Ownership of data and algorithm will be under US jurisdiction, the new agreement is meant to save the app from extinction while safeguarding privacy.
Trump Approves the Purchase
Trump’s action is attributed by analysts as a combination of:
National security: US ownership excludes Chinese control over American data.
Economics: Preserves billions of ad dollars and increases US creators.
Politics: Keeps TikTok among young voters, a prized demographic. Almost half of US population actively uses Tik Tok.
Diplomacy: First-ever Washington-Beijing agreement, Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly signing off on the deal. Placing Beijing in a hard place, either accept the sale or risk full ban and lose the biggest Tik Tok market outside China.
Business optics: Primary US investors — Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, and Michael Dell — provide cover for regulation.
What’s Next
Sale has to be completed within 120 days.
Oracle will mirror and retrain TikTok’s algorithm under US supervision. ByteDance will not be able to access US users’ information.
The regulatory bodies will be keeping an eye out for compliance.
As reported by Bloomberg, once finalized, the current TikTok app in the US will be removed and replaced with a new one belonging to the US company, although details are few.
A Long Road to Resolution
TikTok’s American woes started in 2020, when Trump initially signed an executive order prohibiting transactions with ByteDance. Court fights and politicking kept it stalled for years. The Biden administration then signed into law a Senate-approved bill in to make the limits tighter, and TikTok sued on grounds of First Amendment rights.
Since then, various groups of investors — ranging from Microsoft and Oracle to tiny consortiums supported by financiers such as Alexis Ohanian, Kevin O’Leary, and even MrBeast — have been struggling for dominance. The new deal is a final decree, weighing security, business, and user access.
Why It Matters
The takeover by TikTok provides a precedent for Washington to act against foreign-owned technology platforms deemed harmful to national security. Oracle in charge, Silver Lake and MGX as investors, ByteDance as a third party, the US now has significant control over one of the globe’s most used apps.
For 170 million Americans on TikTok, the deal guarantees that the app will live on — but in a new, US-operated version that could rewrite the playbook for the rest of the global technology industry
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