Trump to sign TikTok deal ceding majority control to US investors
Agreement would move TikTok's operations to a U.S.-based joint venture, with Oracle and Silver Lake holding about 80% and ByteDance under 20%
President Donald Trump is set to sign a TikTok deal Thursday that would transfer majority control of the app to a U.S.-based consortium and keep TikTok available to American users, a White House official told The New York Post.
Under the proposed framework, Oracle — co-founded by Trump ally Larry Ellison — and private-equity firm Silver Lake would own roughly 80% of a new holding company based in the United States, with ByteDance holding less than 20%. The arrangement would relocate TikTok's operations into the joint venture, and it would be governed by a seven-member board, with ByteDance allowed to nominate only one member. Oracle would continue to serve as TikTok's data and security provider.
The Wall Street Journal reported that ByteDance would copy the content-recommendation algorithm and lease it to the U.S. entity as part of the deal. A White House official told The Post that control of the algorithm and related safeguards were a major sticking point in negotiations. Reuters, citing people briefed on the discussions, said the agreement would bar China from accessing U.S. user data.
Officials described the plan as a national-security measure intended to isolate data and ensure oversight by American entities. The framework would place TikTok's data and operations under U.S. governance, with China restricted from direct access.
Analysts say the deal represents a shift in how the United States manages critical tech platforms tied to foreign ownership, potentially signaling a precedent for how other apps handle data in sensitive markets. The White House has not publicly detailed a timetable beyond the expected Thursday signing, and officials cautioned that approvals and potential legal challenges could affect the path forward.
