In a move set to reshape the American social media landscape, President Donald Trump is poised to sign an executive order on Thursday, September 25, 2025, approving a landmark deal that will transfer control of TikTok’s U.S. operations from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to a consortium of American investors. The agreement, which comes after months of tense negotiations and political wrangling, aims to address years of national security concerns while keeping the wildly popular video platform available to over 170 million U.S. users.
According to reporting by Associated Press, Oracle will take the lead in overseeing TikTok’s U.S. algorithm and data security as part of a joint venture that also includes Silver Lake Partners and, potentially, media giants Rupert Murdoch and Michael Dell. President Trump, speaking on Fox News’s The Sunday Briefing, named Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison and Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell as key figures in the deal, calling them “American patriots” who would “do a really good job.” Trump also confirmed that the Murdoch family—whose empire includes Fox News and News Corp—is likely to participate, marking a significant shift for the traditional media dynasty into the world of social media.
The urgency behind the deal stems from bipartisan legislation passed in April 2024, which required ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations by January 2025 or face a total ban. The law, signed by former President Joe Biden, was upheld by the Supreme Court and took effect on January 19, 2025, though a series of extensions—first for 75 days, then another 75, and finally a 90-day extension—allowed negotiations to continue well into the year. As FOX Business reported, the Trump administration repeatedly delayed enforcement, citing ongoing talks and the complexity of the transaction.
Under the terms now being finalized, the new American-led joint venture will receive a licensed copy of TikTok’s powerful recommendation algorithm, which will be retrained using U.S. data. Oracle will be responsible for reviewing, monitoring, and securing all U.S. user data, a move designed to allay fears that Chinese authorities could manipulate the platform or access sensitive information. ByteDance, for its part, will retain a stake of no more than 20% in the new company and will have only one representative on the board—who will be excluded from any security-related decisions. As a senior White House official told NBC News, “American users’ data will be stored in the United States and overseen by the software and cloud computing company Oracle.” The official added that the algorithm would be “retrained and continuously monitored to ensure that U.S. content is free from any outside manipulation.”
Despite the sweeping changes behind the scenes, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reassured users that their experience on the app would remain largely unchanged. “TikTok users in the U.S. will be able to see videos posted by users in other countries and vice versa,” she said in a Monday briefing, as reported by Associated Press. However, some industry analysts remain cautious. Jasmine Enberg, an analyst at eMarketer, noted, “Social media is just as much about the culture as it is the technology, and how users will take to new ownership and potentially a new version of the app is still an open question.”
The deal’s structure is notable for its blend of old and new media powerhouses. Oracle, a technology firm renowned for its database software and data center infrastructure, will bring technical expertise and security acumen to the table. Silver Lake Partners, a private equity firm with a long history of tech investments—including previous buyouts of Dell Computer and Skype—will also play a major role. The Murdoch family’s involvement, via Fox Corp and News Corp, signals a bold foray into social media after decades of dominance in television, newspapers, and publishing. As Trump put it, the investors are “really great people, very prominent people,” and, he added, “they’re also American patriots, you know, they love this country, so I think they’re going to do a really good job.”
The Chinese government, for its part, has adopted a measured tone. China’s Commerce Ministry stated that it “welcomes [TikTok] to carry out commercial negotiations in accordance with market rules,” but insisted that any deal must comply with Chinese laws and regulations and “strike a balance of interests.” During a recent conversation with President Trump, China’s President Xi Jinping reportedly said that Beijing “welcomes negotiations,” according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua. Still, the final framework requires Beijing’s sign-off, and ByteDance has not publicly commented on the latest developments as of September 24, 2025.
The road to this resolution has been anything but smooth. TikTok briefly shut down in the U.S. in January 2025, just a day before Trump’s second inauguration, only to return after Trump promised not to enforce penalties while a deal was being worked out. The platform’s future has been a high-profile flashpoint in U.S.-China relations, with both countries’ leaders using the saga as a bargaining chip in broader trade and technology disputes. American officials have long warned that ByteDance’s algorithm could be manipulated by Chinese authorities, potentially shaping content in ways that would be difficult to detect. The new arrangement aims to sever those ties, at least in the U.S. market, by placing both the algorithm and user data under American control.
The deal’s completion will not only mark a watershed moment in U.S.-China technology relations but could also set important precedents for how foreign-owned digital platforms operate in America. With Oracle and Silver Lake at the helm, and media titans like the Murdochs and Michael Dell potentially in the mix, the new TikTok venture represents a hybrid approach—melding traditional media influence with cutting-edge cloud computing and hardware capabilities. As Trump emphasized, the consortium is composed of “very well-known people” who will raise a “tremendous amount” of money for the acquisition, ensuring that the platform remains both financially robust and technically secure.
While the ultimate impact on TikTok’s user experience remains to be seen, one thing is clear: the app’s future in the United States now hinges on a unique alliance of business titans, political will, and international diplomacy. As the ink dries on the executive order and the last regulatory hurdles are cleared, all eyes will be on how this new chapter unfolds for America’s favorite short-video platform.
