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TikTok’s US Operation Transfer: Key Developments and Uncertainties
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order, mandating the transfer of the ownership of TikTok’s US operation to a consortium of American investors, with Oracle co – founder Larry Ellison being part of this group.
During a White House press conference, President Trump stated, “I had a very productive discussion with President Xi. TikTok was among the topics we covered, and we received the necessary approval.” However, he also acknowledged facing some resistance from the “Chinese side.” As of Thursday afternoon, the Chinese government had not released any official announcement regarding the deal.
Vice President JD Vance estimated the value of TikTok in this deal to be approximately $14 billion. ByteDance, by August, was valued at $330 billion. Both President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recognized Vice President Vance as playing a crucial role in brokering this agreement.
According to President Trump, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, and Rupert Murdoch are among the “four or five” American investors set to take over TikTok’s US operations. He emphasized at the press conference, “Oracle is playing a very significant part.” Vice President Vance indicated that the complete list of investors would be made public in the “coming days.”
Deal Details and Uncertainties
The exact details of the deal remain undisclosed. Vice President Vance explained during a briefing, “This deal ensures that the American entity and investors will have control over the algorithm. We aim to prevent it from being exploited as a propaganda tool by any foreign government.”
It is unclear whether ByteDance will retain any responsibility for TikTok’s US operations. TikTok had been relying on Project Texas, a system intended to segregate data access between US – and China – based employees, to alleviate national security concerns. However, given TikTok’s global nature, seamless data separation is challenging, as different departments and geographical branches often need to access each other’s data. For many in Congress and across Washington, any ByteDance involvement in the new US – based TikTok could potentially violate the law. Conversely, if the licensing arrangement is essentially about acquiring a copy of ByteDance’s source code, it may be seen as a violation of Chinese law.
Another area of uncertainty pertains to US users. It is not clear if they will be compelled to migrate to a new app, and whether the content they receive will differ from that of TikTok users globally. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Monday that there would be no such difference. Nevertheless, even if the content pool remains the same, modifications to the recommendation algorithm would inevitably lead to users seeing different content. TikTok is distinct in that its content algorithm largely dictates the user experience, unlike previous platforms that prioritize personal connections and self – declared interests. This means users have limited control over the content on their “For You” page.
Concerns over Political Influence
There are widespread apprehensions that the Trump administration may use its allies’ control over media and social media to censor content it deems unfavorable. Larry Ellison, who will hold a significant position in the new TikTok entity, has close associations with the Trump administration. For instance, CBS, now owned by his son David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance Corporation, recently canceled The Late Show, whose host, Stephen Colbert, is a vocal critic of President Trump.
When a reporter asked President Trump on Thursday if the deal would result in more MAGA – related content on TikTok, he replied, “If possible, I would have made the algorithm 100 percent MAGA – related. Unfortunately, that won’t be the case. Everyone will be treated fairly.”