President Donald Trump on Thursday afternoon signed an executive order clearing the way for a deal to put TikTok in U.S. hands, with some of his closest billionaire allies poised to take the reins.
“This is going to be American-operated all the way,” Trump said during the signing, adding that the agreement had been greenlit by Chinese President Xi Jinping. “I have great respect for President Xi, and I very much appreciate that he approved the deal, because to get it done properly, we really needed the support of China and the approval of China.”
Who’s in the deal
The ownership structure is still being finalized, but Trump revealed that Oracle, and its co-founder Larry Ellison would play a “big” role in managing the app, given that they had already stored much of Tiktok’s U.S.-based data in their servers. Ellison has been an ally of the President, raising millions for the president’s campaign and advising him during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also added that conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox corporation – which runs Fox News – would be an investor, and computer billionaire Michael Dell would also sit on the board. He hinted that three more “blue chip” backers were also part of the group, but did not announce who they were.
For Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, a stake in TikTok could provide a way to reach younger audiences beyond traditional TV and print, where the family’s News Corp empire dominates — and perhaps redeem their disastrous MySpace purchase nearly 20 years ago. The terms of Fox’s role remain unclear, but a TikTok tie-in would join minority stakes the Murdochs already hold in betting companies Flutter and FanDuel, and further cement Lachlan’s control of the empire after a recent family trust restructuring ensured his succession as Rupert’s heir.
Vice President JD Vance asserted that the agreement gives Americans authority over TikTok’s prized algorithm; the system that dictates what over 170 million U.S. users see on their feeds. Speaking as the president signed the executive order in the Oval Office, Vance pegged Tiktok’s worth at $14 billion — significantly below earlier estimates that placed TikTok’s U.S. assets as high as $100 billion depending on algorithm access.
“This deal will allow for the U.S. to control the app’s algorithm,” he said. “It’s actually going to be American-operated all the way.”
For Trump, the signing was about more than national security – he linked it to his broader trade agenda, boasting about tariffs and their windfall.
Still, concerns are surfacing about what it means for Trump allies to control a platform with such influence over American political discourse.
Trump himself joked about algorithmic favoritism: “I always like MAGA-related. If I could make it 100% MAGA, I would, but it’s not going to work out that way, unfortunately. No, everyone’s going to be treated fairly. Every group, every philosophy, every policy will be treated very fairly.”
Vance also stressed that business would drive the app’s content decisions: “We want the business to make decisions about content based on the interest of the business and based on the interest of the users, and that’s what we think will happen.”
The signing also lays the groundwork for Trump’s first in-person meeting with Xi since returning to office. The two leaders are expected to discuss the deal further at the upcoming APEC Summit in South Korea.
Tiktok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
