Topline
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Thursday to finalize a deal between the U.S. and TikTok’s Chinese leadership, according to multiple reports, likely placing the social media app in the hands of a trio or more of the world’s wealthiest—and all major Trump supporters.
As part of a ban approved by Congress in April 2024, ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based owners, are required to divest from the social media app or face a ban in the U.S., though Trump has extended a deadline for ByteDance to do so multiple times and recently proclaimed, “We have a deal on TikTok.”
TikTok could be valued anywhere between $40 billion and $50 billion, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote earlier this year, though that estimate excluded ByteDance’s recommendation algorithm (ByteDance reportedly valued itself at more than $330 billion in August).
TikTok is the third-most popular social media app in the U.S. by audience on desktop or mobile with roughly 124.7 million users in August, below Facebook’s 137.3 million and YouTube’s 162.5 million, according to estimates from Similarweb’s digital intelligence services.
Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Thursday, which would declare a deal for ByteDance to divest from TikTok’s U.S. operations meets requirements under the 2024 law banning the app, Reuters reported, citing a White House source with knowledge of the matter. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested over the weekend a deal would likely be signed “in the coming days.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that trade negotiators from the U.S. and China agreed on a “framework” for the deal that would transition TikTok to U.S.-controlled ownership, though specifics—other than likely investors—have not been specified.
Americans will hold six of seven board seats for TikTok’s U.S. entity as part of the deal, according to Leavitt. Oracle, the cloud computing firm headed by billionaire Larry Ellison, would lead TikTok’s “data and privacy” and store data across its facilities in the U.S., preventing access from China, Leavitt said. Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX are expected to be the three main shareholders with a roughly 45% stake, CNBC reported. ByteDance’s existing U.S. investors, including Susquehanna International, KKR and General Atlantic, are also expected to hold equity, while ByteDance will hold roughly 20% of shares. Trump has suggested Lachlan Murdoch, billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s heir, might also be tied to the deal, adding, “Rupert is probably going to be in the group, I think they’re going to be in the group.” Trump suggested Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell could also be included in the deal.
ByteDance will copy TikTok’s recommendation algorithm and lease it to the U.S. entity as part of the deal, the Journal reported, citing a White House official. The company, under the supervision of Oracle and the U.S. government, would then replicate the algorithm for U.S.-based users.
Trump thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for “the TikTok approval” last week, indicating they made “progress on many very important issues” in a recent phone call. China’s foreign ministry, in a follow-up statement to Trump’s call with Xi, did not explicitly say whether Xi had approved the deal, however. The ministry noted the Chinese government “respects corporate decisions and welcomes business negotiations that follow market rules and produce solutions consistent with Chinese laws and balanced interests.” In the call, Xi requested Trump to avoid imposing “unilateral trade restrictions” on China, according to the statement. Leavitt said the Trump administration is “100% confident” China will give final approval.
President Joe Biden signed a ban on TikTok in the U.S. into law last year, following years of bipartisan scrutiny over the app amid data privacy concerns and alleged links to the Chinese government. Forbes has previously reported TikTok spied on journalists, promoted Chinese propaganda on the app, mishandled personal user information like Social Security numbers and tracked “sensitive words.” TikTok has denied any wrongdoing and having any links to the Chinese government, claiming in a lawsuit the ban violates its First Amendment rights. TikTok has said a ban was “simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally.” The Supreme Court upheld the ban in January, ruling the law does not violate the First Amendment rights of the app and upholding the federal government’s national security concerns.