Trump signs deal so that allies can take control of TikTok in the U.S.
INTERNATIONAL – USA
27 SEPTEMBER 2025
- U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order laying out a proposed deal for a U.S. version of TikTok that would put control of the app in the hands of the President’s allies.
- The deal would see Chinese ownership of TikTok reduced to 20% in the United States, and Beijing reiterated a call for “open, fair” treatment on the issue.
- The phenomenally popular short-form video platform says it has over 170 million U.S. users — nearly half the population of the world’s top economy.
- But national security concerns have led Washington to try and wrest TikTok’s U.S. operations from the hands of Chinese parent company ByteDance.
- Mr. Trump said the U.S. version of the app would be run by “highly sophisticated” investors, all his allies, while insisting that the app would not toe any political line.
- The investors would include Larry Ellison, the founder of cloud giant Oracle, tech investor Michael Dell and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.
“The proposed divestiture would allow the millions of Americans who enjoy TikTok every day to continue using it while also protecting national security,” Mr. Trump stated in the order.
