Trump signs executive order to push U.S. control of TikTok amid MAGA-content concerns

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order intended to solidify a deal that would give U.S. investors a majority stake in TikTok, the popular video app at the center of a national-security debate. The order gives all parties an additional 120 days to finalize terms and aligns with a year-end congressional mandate requiring that 80 percent of TikTok's ownership be held by U.S. investors, with ByteDance expected to own less than 20 percent. The administration says the arrangement would keep TikTok accessible in the United States while ensuring data privacy protections and American oversight of the algorithm that powers the platform.

U.S. investors named in the plan include Oracle, Rupert Murdoch's media holdings, and Michael Dell of Dell Technologies, among others. The deal is framed as a two-track process: a commercial transaction that would transfer control of TikTok’s U.S. operations to an American entity and investors, and a governmental layer that would satisfy national-security concerns raised by Congress and the administration. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was among officials present at the Oval Office announcement, underscoring the now familiar division between business and policy in the debate over the app.

The administration and the deal participants contend the arrangement would preserve access to TikTok for American users while imposing stringent data-protection safeguards and guaranteeing that the algorithm—often described as TikTok’s essential engine—remains under U.S. control. Trump said the goal is to protect American data while allowing the platform to continue operating, and he noted that the deal would not entail any annual payments to the government, instead emphasizing potential tax revenues from the investment.

Despite the official framing, critics have warned that a deal could simply channel financial gains to Trump-aligned billionaires and could enable the platform to influence political narratives through its algorithm. Representative Don Beyer of Virginia, among others, criticized the arrangement in social media posts, arguing that the financial upside would accrue to a small group of allies and could raise conflicts of interest with public policy. Supporters, however, assert that U.S. ownership would bring stronger privacy rules and transparency, and they point to the involvement of prominent American investors as a bulwark against foreign influence campaigns.

Trump has previously used TikTok as a campaign tool and has publicly discussed the platform’s role in mobilizing voters. In remarks from the Oval Office, he addressed questions about whether the ownership structure would tilt the app toward a particular political viewpoint. He acknowledged the complexity of balancing free speech with national-security concerns, saying he would prefer the deal to be 100 percent MAGA, but added that such an outcome is not feasible and that fairness to all viewpoints remains the guiding principle.

The White House press and policy teams say the talks have involved both commercial negotiations and talks with Beijing and other Chinese authorities. Vice President JD Vance described the process as having encountered resistance from the Chinese side but emphasized that the objective remained to keep TikTok operating in the United States while ensuring data privacy as required by law. He also stressed that the ultimate control of the algorithm would reside with American investors, a point intended to reassure lawmakers wary of foreign influence.

Observers note the timing coincides with a broader push by lawmakers to enforce divestment conditions and tighten national-security safeguards around social media platforms that handle large volumes of American user data. The executive order extends the window for negotiations and reflects the administration’s preference for a negotiated solution rather than an outright ban, albeit one that would still require final approvals from ByteDance and Chinese officials. ByteDance and TikTok did not respond to requests for comment on the status of the deal, and there has been little public movement on finalizing the ownership structure beyond the commitments outlined by U.S. officials.

The magnitude of the deal remains uncertain. Trump has suggested that the platform could be valued at tens of billions of dollars, though he has given different figures in various remarks. He has also touted the potential for the agreement to create tax revenue and support small businesses that rely on TikTok for advertising and outreach. Some analysts project the app could be worth anywhere from $14 billion to $30–$50 billion depending on the structure and the willingness of U.S. investors to inject capital and assume control of the service’s U.S. user data and content governance.

The deal’s prospects depend on Chinese regulatory approvals, investor diligence, and the ability of the parties to finalize governance arrangements that satisfy both U.S. national-security concerns and the commercial realities of a platform with hundreds of millions of global users. For now, the 120-day extension provides a runway for negotiations and for Chinese officials to weigh their stance on a transaction that remains politically sensitive in Washington and Beijing alike.

ByteDance and TikTok have not publicly commented on whether they plan to divest or how the proposed ownership would be structured under U.S. law. The administration and the investors involved say the arrangement is designed to keep the service online in the United States while ensuring that data handling, app-store access, and algorithmic governance are subject to American oversight. Critics argue that the deal may still fail to fully insulate U.S. users from foreign influence campaigns or data-security risks, and they warn that political considerations could shape the ultimate terms.

The situation remains fluid, with parties expected to announce further investor participants at a later date. In the meantime, the executive order reinforces the administration’s preference for a negotiated outcome that preserves access to TikTok for American users while incorporating explicit protections for data privacy and domestic governance of the platform’s core technology.