TikTok dispute: Trump Signs Regulation on TikTok Sales

China remains silent. The American part of TikTok must be sold to American investors by mid-December. If this fails, the app will be banned in the US. Concerns about data protection and Chinese propaganda are behind this.

Trump signed an executive order paving the way for the sale of TikTok's American subsidiary , news agencies reported on Thursday (September 25). The executive order is primarily a symbolic act, as China has yet to officially approve the sale. Vice President J.D. Vance stated that the American TikTok subsidiary would be valued at approximately $14 billion.

Trump plans to sign the TikTok deal on Thursday.  News agencies reported this on Wednesday (September 24), citing a White House source. The structure of the agreement, which will transfer TikTok to American ownership, was revealed the day before. According to the report, the tech company Oracle will lead the American investment team. A copy of the recommendation algorithm will be licensed from China to the American TikTok consortium. The algorithm will thus remain under Chinese control. However, Oracle will review all software updates. The data of American users will be stored in the USA, and China will not have access to it.

Donald Trump has identified potential investors for TikTok. Lachlan Murdoch, media executive and son of Rupert Murdoch, as well as Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell, are expected to have future investments in TikTok. Trump made this announcement on Fox News on Sunday (September 21). Lachlan Murdoch, among other things, heads Fox Corporation, the media conglomerate that publishes the conservative TV channel Fox News. It is unclear whether the future investors will have influence over TikTok's tone or content.

An agreement between Washington and Beijing stipulates that Americans will hold six of the seven seats on a TikTok board. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said this on Saturday (September 20). "There will be seven seats on the board that oversees the app in the United States, and six of those seats will be held by Americans," Leavitt said in an interview with Fox News. China has not yet commented.

The US announced that a framework agreement for the sale of TikTok had been reached ( September 15 ).  As Secretary of Commerce Scott Bessent announced, an agreement has been reached with China on an American buyer. Observers believe the buyers are a consortium led by Oracle founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison. China has not yet confirmed this information. 

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