Trump expected to sign TikTok deal giving US majority ownership and data control
Deal would place TikTok’s U.S. operations in a U.S.-based joint venture with Oracle as security provider, according to a White House official.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is expected to sign a TikTok deal this week that would give American investors majority control and allow a U.S.-based company to keep users’ data, a senior White House official said Monday.
Under the agreement, TikTok’s U.S. operations would be moved into a joint venture based in the United States, with Oracle serving as the app’s security provider. The official said data from at least 170 million Americans would be analyzed, retrained and continuously monitored by Oracle as part of the arrangement. Trump has been pursuing a deal with China over TikTok while seeking assurances about data security and national security implications.
The White House stressed that by saving TikTok, the administration is expected to save thousands of jobs and small businesses connected to the app. The official added that the agreement could yield hundreds of billions of dollars in value over the next five years.
The administration has long tussled with Capitol Hill over TikTok, waiving provisions in a law passed by Congress last year and upheld by the Supreme Court that forced ByteDance to divest a controlling stake. By law, ByteDance is required to hold less than 20% of equity in the U.S. operation. White House officials described the deal as a national-security-driven restructuring designed to ensure American ownership and oversight, while preserving the platform’s American user base.
With the talks intensifying, U.S. lawmakers who have criticized the app’s data practices remained skeptical about whether a private joint venture could fully insulate Americans’ information from foreign access. The White House official noted that the administration is seeking a slate of patriotic U.S. investors with knowledge of national security and cyber security, and indicated that several U.S.-based investors had expressed interest.
The framework for the deal hardened as U.S. and Chinese officials met in Madrid, Spain, last week, and Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping by phone Friday. Trump said Xi had ‘‘approved’’ the TikTok deal, then clarified that Washington looked forward to closing the agreement.
Trump has previously issued extensions delaying the ban on TikTok as he worked out the terms of the agreement. He has argued that the app shows tremendous value and that his executive authority allowed him to override the congressional ban when needed. The conversation with Xi signaled a potential shift from confrontation toward a negotiated settlement aimed at addressing both countries’ security concerns while preserving access to a popular American app.
ByteDance owns TikTok, and the proposed arrangement would maintain a strong U.S. ownership stake while placing sensitive data handling and oversight under a U.S.-based entity with Oracle as the security provider. The White House emphasized that the deal’s structure would ensure ongoing monitoring and governance to prevent foreign access to user data and to maintain confidence in the platform’s safety for American users.
The discussions come as U.S. political attention to TikTok continues to intersect with broader debates over Chinese influence, cybersecurity, and the power of social media platforms in shaping public discourse. Officials cautioned that while the framework addresses ownership and data-handling concerns, legislative and regulatory questions may continue to evolve as the deal nears closure.
If finalized, the agreement could redefine the app’s governance in the United States and set a precedent for how future technology platforms with foreign roots might operate under heightened U.S. oversight. Observers said the outcome could influence ongoing conversations in Congress about data sovereignty, platform accountability, and the balance between national-security interests and consumer access to popular digital services.
