President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that clears the way for TikTok to continue operating in the United States. The move follows months of uncertainty over whether the app would be banned unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sold off its U.S. business.
The deal, valued at $14 billion, creates a new joint-venture company that will control TikTok’s American operations. ByteDance will hold less than 20 percent, while U.S. and international investors will own the majority. Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX fund are set to hold around 45 percent, and another 35 percent will come from ByteDance’s existing backers and new investors.
Oracle will also run TikTok’s American data and security systems, ensuring the app’s infrastructure is kept on U.S. soil. At the signing ceremony, Trump emphasized that the deal ensures American oversight. “It’s owned by Americans, and very sophisticated Americans,” he said, highlighting Oracle chairman Larry Ellison’s involvement.
ByteDance was not present at the event and has not commented on the agreement. China’s government still needs to approve the transaction, and questions remain about whether its data export laws will complicate the process. Analysts had valued TikTok’s U.S. business at as much as $35 billion, while ByteDance overall was valued at $330 billion last month.
According to CNBC’s David Faber, major ByteDance investors such as General Atlantic, Susquehanna, and Sequoia Capital are also expected to join the U.S. venture. Despite Trump’s assertion that Chinese President Xi Jinping had blessed the deal, Vice President JD Vance said Beijing initially pushed back before softening its stance.
The executive order also delays enforcement of a national security law first enacted under President Joe Biden, which could have penalized Apple, Google, and internet providers for supporting TikTok in the U.S. The new deadline for compliance is now December 16.
Importantly, the U.S. government itself will not take an equity stake or claim a “golden share” in the company. Trump, however, hinted that prominent American figures such as Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, and Michael Dell could become future investors.
For now, TikTok remains online in the U.S., but the spotlight shifts to China’s approval and whether the ownership structure truly satisfies long-term security concerns.