President Trump has officially signed off on a $14 billion deal that will spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a new, American-controlled entity, with key investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and other global firms.
TLDR:
- TikTok’s U.S. operations will be spun off into a separate $14 billion American company
- Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX to lead the investor group, holding around 50 percent
- ByteDance will retain less than 20 percent ownership to comply with U.S. law
- The deal includes retraining TikTok’s algorithm and securing U.S. user data under Oracle’s control
What Happened?
President Donald Trump signed an executive order confirming the approval of a long-awaited restructuring of TikTok’s U.S. operations. The move follows a 2024 law requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to divest control or face a ban in the U.S. Trump declared the agreement meets all legal and national security requirements. The spin-off will create a standalone U.S.-based TikTok entity worth an estimated $14 billion.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump just signed a HUGE DEAL – the Executive Order that SAVES TIKTOK & protects Americans’ data. 🇺🇸💥
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 25, 2025
We’re BACK – and BETTER than ever 📲 https://t.co/8IPGxrQYGC pic.twitter.com/5TNzSbwlYH
TikTok’s New Structure: Who Owns What?
The upcoming TikTok U.S. entity will be backed primarily by American investors. Oracle and private equity firm Silver Lake will take around 50 percent ownership. MGX, an investment firm from Abu Dhabi, is also expected to hold a significant stake. Other participants include existing ByteDance investors like Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic, and KKR.
ByteDance will hold under 20 percent of the new entity, aligning with the law’s mandate that restricts foreign ownership. The new board will include seven members, with six Americans and one ByteDance appointee.
Key Investment Details:
- Estimated value of TikTok U.S.: $14 billion.
- Oracle will oversee cloud storage and data security.
- The recommendation algorithm will be retrained under U.S. supervision.
- ByteDance will not have access to U.S. user data.
Security and Algorithm Control
Trump and Vice President JD Vance emphasized the agreement’s national security benefits. U.S. user data will be stored in Oracle’s secure cloud infrastructure, with additional safeguards in place to block any foreign access. ByteDance will license a copy of TikTok’s algorithm, which Oracle will retrain from scratch to prevent any external manipulation.
According to a U.S. official, Oracle’s role will include auditing how the new algorithm feeds content to users, ensuring it cannot be exploited or misused.
China’s Role Remains Murky
Trump claimed to have received approval for the deal from Chinese President Xi Jinping, stating, “We talked about TikTok and he gave us the go-ahead.” However, Chinese media reports have suggested ByteDance might still retain some operational influence, particularly in e-commerce and branding functions. Two Chinese media outlets that initially published these claims later pulled the reports.
The Chinese embassy and ByteDance have not commented publicly on the matter.
Political Reactions and Congressional Concerns
Not everyone in Washington is convinced the deal ensures a clean break from ByteDance. Some lawmakers have called for greater transparency and oversight. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi said, “If a deal has been struck, the details need to be shared with Congress.” His Republican counterpart, Representative John Moolenaar, also emphasized the need to scrutinize compliance with the law.
Despite the executive order, lingering concerns over the deal’s final structure and ByteDance’s continuing involvement could lead to further political scrutiny.
Deadline and Next Steps
The executive order gives the involved parties 120 days to finalize the deal. This marks the fifth extension of the original deadline under the 2024 divest-or-ban law. The final agreement must close by end of January 2026.
TikTok, which boasts 170 million American users, has been an important platform for Trump’s own political outreach. He has over 15 million followers on the app, and the White House launched its official TikTok account just last month.
What TechKV Thinks?
I think this TikTok deal is a classic Trump move and is part business, part political play. On paper, the structure checks all the legal boxes, and the involvement of big American names like Oracle and Michael Dell gives it a sense of credibility. But let’s be real, there’s still a lot of fog. Who’s really in control of the algorithm? Will ByteDance stay quietly in the shadows or remain a player behind the curtain? These are questions Congress, and probably users too, should keep asking.
The push to secure user data and eliminate foreign influence is something I welcome, especially in an election year. But without full transparency, this might be more of a PR win than a national security triumph. Time will tell how “American-operated” this new TikTok truly becomes.
