TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance in China, has been embroiled in controversy in the United States for the past four years, largely due to worries that the Chinese government could gain access to user data.
Because of this, American users have frequently found themselves in a difficult position. Earlier this year, the app briefly went offline in the U.S., leaving millions uncertain until service was swiftly restored. By February, TikTok was once again available on both the App Store and Google Play Store.
Several investors are vying to acquire the platform, and after Trump postponed the TikTok ban for a fourth time, it appears that negotiations have advanced.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order authorizing the sale of TikTok’s U.S. business to a group of American investors. Vice President JD Vance stated that the deal would value TikTok US at around $14 billion. According to Angelo Zino, senior vice president at CFRA Research, if the sale proceeds, the U.S. branch of TikTok could be valued at over $60 billion.
A week earlier, President Trump revealed that China’s President Xi Jinping had agreed to a TikTok deal, allowing a group of U.S. investors to take control of the service. ByteDance has publicly committed to keeping the platform accessible to users in the United States.
Who is set to own TikTok in the U.S.?
Recent reports suggest that a “framework” agreement has been reached between the U.S. and China, with new details indicating that a consortium including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz could manage TikTok’s American operations.
This group of investors is expected to control 80% of the company, while the rest will be held by Chinese shareholders. The board of the new entity would be mostly made up of Americans, with one seat designated by the U.S. government.
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During a Fox interview last weekend, Trump said that Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan would “likely” be involved, along with Oracle’s executive chairman Larry Ellison and Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Technologies.
Oracle is expected to be responsible for the platform’s safety and security protocols. The company already supplies cloud infrastructure for TikTok and oversees its U.S. user data. Notably, Oracle had previously attempted to acquire TikTok in 2020.
Additionally, as part of the proposed deal, Oracle would duplicate and safeguard a new American version of TikTok’s algorithm, according to a White House official. The U.S.-based owners could license the algorithm from ByteDance, which Oracle would then retrain.
ByteDance will not be able to access U.S. user data or have any say over the American algorithm.
Key information for U.S. TikTok users
Bloomberg has reported that once the agreement is finalized, TikTok will be discontinued in the United States, requiring users to migrate to a new platform. However, details about this new service—such as its features and how it will differ from TikTok—are still mostly unknown.
How did this situation develop?
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To better understand this complex situation, let’s review the timeline of TikTok’s often rocky interactions with the U.S. government, which have led to numerous legal disputes and negotiations.
The conflict began in August 2020, when Trump signed an executive order to prohibit transactions with ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company.
A month after that, the Trump administration tried to force the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to an American company. Microsoft, Oracle, and Walmart were among the top bidders. However, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s order, allowing TikTok to keep operating during the ongoing legal proceedings.
The situation evolved further last year after the Biden administration took office. Following the Senate’s passage of the bill targeting TikTok, President Joe Biden signed it into law.
In response, TikTok filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, claiming the ban was unconstitutional and that it infringed on the First Amendment rights of the app and its American users. The company has repeatedly insisted that it does not pose a security risk and that its U.S. data storage complies with all relevant laws.
Now, Trump has shifted his stance since his first term and is seeking a 50-50 ownership split between ByteDance and an American company.
Several groups have expressed interest, including The People’s Bid for TikTok, a consortium led by Project Liberty founder Frank McCourt. This coalition is backed by Guggenheim Securities and the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, and includes supporters such as Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, investor and TV personality Kevin O’Leary, World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, and senior research scientist David Clark.
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Another contender, the American Investor Consortium, is headed by Employer.com founder Jesse Tinsley and features Roblox co-founder David Baszucki, Anchorage Digital co-founder Nathan McCauley, and well-known YouTuber MrBeast.
Other interested parties have included Amazon, AppLovin, Microsoft, Perplexity AI, Rumble, Walmart, Zoop, former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
This article has been updated since it was first published.
