New Delhi: US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order declaring that TikTok’s US operations are ready to be sold, valuing the new American company at about $14 billion. The order is meant to address national security requirements set out in a 2024 law that demanded ByteDance sell its US assets or face a ban.
The move gives investors and regulators more clarity, but questions remain over who will run TikTok’s most valuable asset, its recommendation algorithm. Trump has delayed enforcement of the law until January 20 to allow more time for the restructuring and approvals.
TikTok’s US unit set for restructuring
According to Vice President JD Vance, the new US company has been priced at $14 billion, a figure far below analyst expectations. “There was some resistance on the Chinese side, but the fundamental thing that we wanted to accomplish is that we wanted to keep TikTok operating, but we also wanted to make sure that we protected Americans’ data privacy as required by law,” Vance told reporters in the Oval Office.
The order says the algorithm will be retrained and monitored by US security partners, and its operation will remain under the control of the new joint venture. Trump told reporters he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “We had a good talk, I told him what we were doing and he said go ahead with it,” Trump said.
Big names in the investor group
The White House confirmed that a group of investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will take significant stakes. Sources told Reuters that Oracle and Silver Lake together will hold about 50 percent in TikTok US, with ByteDance’s existing investors taking another 30 percent.
Trump also dropped a few familiar names. He said that Michael Dell, Rupert Murdoch, and “probably four or five absolutely world-class investors” would be part of the deal. The White House has not explained how it arrived at the $14 billion valuation, especially given that ByteDance itself is valued at more than $330 billion in its employee share program.
ByteDance role under scrutiny
Chinese media has reported a slightly different version of the deal. LatePost said ByteDance will set up a new US company to handle e-commerce, branding, and interconnection with its international operations. Caixin reported that ByteDance would still receive some revenue from TikTok US and appoint one of seven board members, while Americans will hold the remaining six seats.
Alan Rozenshtein, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, pointed out the gaps. “The problem is that the president has certified the deal, but he has not provided a lot of information on the algorithm,” he said.
Political reactions and timeline
Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives welcomed progress but warned that the final deal must guarantee a clean break. “As the details are finalized, we must ensure this deal protects American users from the influence and surveillance of CCP-aligned groups,” said Representatives Brett Guthrie, Gus Bilirakis, and Richard Hudson.
Trump has repeatedly credited TikTok with helping him reach voters. He has 15 million followers on his personal account, and the White House recently launched an official TikTok presence. “This is going to be American-operated all the way,” Trump said.
For now, the deal has bought TikTok more time, but the real test will come in January when the enforcement deadline arrives. The question is, will there be two versions of TikTok?, One specifically for the US, and one for the world?