Here's Everything We Know About President Trump's TikTok Deal With China

AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File

President Trump has long signaled his intention to strike a deal with China that would allow Americans to keep scrolling their way through the videos on the popular social media app TikTok, and it looks like that deal may be imminent. The news is likely to be to the relief of countless teenagers and the chagrin of their parents; it's estimated that there are 170 million TikTok users in the United States.

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In an interview on Fox News' new The Sunday Show, hosted by Peter Doocy, the president revealed "very prominent American people" and "very great patriots" would be involved in the deal that will see operations of the app move from China's ByteDance to a group of U.S. companies, including Oracle and the private-equity firm Silver Lake.

Trump teased some of the finer points of who would be involved in carrying out the deal, telling Doocy, "You know, they’re very well-known people. And Larry Ellison is one of them. He’s involved. He’s a great guy. Michael Dell is involved." The president added, "I hate to tell you this, but a man named Lachlan is involved," referring to Lachlan Murdoch.

Trump told Doocy of his efforts to save TikTok, "I'm a little prejudiced with TikTok because, you know, I did so well with the young voter." The president had previously credited the late Charlie Kirk with getting him onto the app during the 2024 presidential race, remembering, "Charlie was very much in favor of TikTok; he liked TikTok. He said, you know, ‘You should use it.’"


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The specifics of the deal are coming into focus, with Oracle taking the lead in securing the data of U.S. users.

Under the deal, TikTok operations will be moved into a joint venture that will be based in the US, with Oracle – co-founded by billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison – serving as the app’s security provider.

Existing investors and new American backers like Oracle and private-equity firm Silver Lake will together own about 80% of the company – sinking Chinese parent ByteDance’s stake to less than 20%.

In her Monday briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt offered additional details on what users can expect once the deal is signed.

Under the terms of this deal, TikTok will be owned by a majority of American investors and controlled by a board of directors with extensive national security and cyber security credentials. In partnership with the U.S. government, Oracle will serve as TikTok's trusted security advisor, and they will independently monitor the safety and data security of all U.S. user data on TikTok's platform.

American's data will be stored securely in the United States without access from China. All U.S. data will be stored on servers operated by Oracle in the United States, protected from surveillance or interference by foreign adversaries.

And the algorithm -- I know this is a question many of you have -- will be secured, retrained, and operated in the United States, outside of ByteDance's control. TikTok will remain globally interoperable, meaning TikTok users in the U.S. will be able to see videos posted by users in other countries and vice versa.

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Leavitt said while she didn't have specific numbers on the cost of procuring the deal, the administration estimated that businesses using TikTok would generate as much at $178 billion "in economic activity within the U.S. over the next four years."

The TikTok deal is expected to be signed later this week.

Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.

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