US President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order approving a deal that will shift ownership of the popular video-sharing app TikTok into the hands of American investors and companies, addressing long-standing national security concerns.
Trump revealed that TikTok was a key topic during his recent call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 20. “I had a very good talk with President Xi. We discussed TikTok, and he gave us the go-ahead,” Trump said, expressing optimism about the agreement.
The President assured that the new ownership structure would ensure tighter control and stronger safeguards. “It’s run by American investors and American companies—great ones, the biggest. The young people really wanted this to happen,” he added.
Oracle, led by its Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison, is expected to play a central role in maintaining TikTok’s security framework. “We have American investors taking it over, highly sophisticated, including Larry Ellison and Oracle, which will play a very big role in terms of security and safety,” Trump explained.
The deal comes against the backdrop of US legislation passed in April 2024, which required TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest its American operations or face a nationwide ban from January 2025.
Following Trump’s discussions with Xi, ByteDance confirmed its cooperation. In a statement, the company said it would advance the necessary work under Chinese law to ensure TikTok’s continued operations in the US.
According to reports in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, the agreement is expected to give US investors an 80 percent stake in TikTok, with the remaining 20 percent held by Chinese firms, including ByteDance.
Trump described the outcome as “a very good deal for Washington,” stressing that the US will maintain “tight control” over the platform moving forward.
