Trump Signs Executive Order to Transfer TikTok Ownership to US Investors

Essential brief

Key facts

Trump signed an executive order to transfer TikTok's US operations from ByteDance to American investors.

US investors, led by Oracle, will own about 65% of the new TikTok entity, with ByteDance retaining less than 20%.

The new company will be governed by a board mainly composed of American security experts to protect user data.

The deal resolves national security concerns and allows TikTok to continue operating in the US after legal challenges.

The divestiture is expected to be finalized within 120 days, marking increased US control over a major social media platform.

Highlights

Trump signed an executive order to transfer TikTok's US operations from ByteDance to American investors.

US investors, led by Oracle, will own about 65% of the new TikTok entity, with ByteDance retaining less than 20%.

The new company will be governed by a board mainly composed of American security experts to protect user data.

The deal resolves national security concerns and allows TikTok to continue operating in the US after legal challenges.

On September 25, 2025, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order formalizing an agreement to transfer TikTok's US operations from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to American investors.

The deal, reached after discussions between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, aims to separate TikTok from ByteDance and allow the app to continue operating in the United States under US ownership.

Under the agreement, American investors will hold approximately 65% of the US version of TikTok, with ByteDance and Chinese investors retaining less than 20%.

The new entity will be governed by a seven-member board consisting primarily of American cybersecurity and national security experts.

The US company is valued at $14 billion, significantly less than ByteDance's overall valuation of around $330 billion.

Oracle, a US software giant, will lead the consortium of investors, managing TikTok's US operations, cloud data storage, and licensing of the app's recommendation algorithm.

Other notable investors include media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Dell CEO Michael Dell.

The executive order states that ByteDance and Chinese officials will have no access to US user data, addressing previous national security concerns.

This move resolves months of uncertainty following bipartisan legislative pressure and a Supreme Court ruling that threatened to ban TikTok unless divested.

The deal also marks a strategic effort by the Trump administration to increase US influence in the tech sector, following recent investments in domestic chip manufacturing.

While Trump expressed enthusiasm about TikTok's role in the 2024 election and its popularity among young Americans, he emphasized that the app will continue to recommend diverse content fairly.

The divestiture process is expected to take up to 120 days to complete.

This development represents a significant shift in the governance of one of the US's most widely used social media platforms, with around 180 million American users.