President Donald Trump is set to declare this week that a long-awaited deal to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, satisfies the requirements of a 2024 bipartisan law, according to a senior White House official.
The announcement would mark a pivotal moment in a saga that has spanned two administrations, involved months of high-stakes U.S.–China negotiations, and threatened to ban one of the world’s most popular apps from American smartphones.
Terms of the emerging deal
Under the agreement, ByteDance will own less than 20% of TikTok U.S., with the remainder controlled by a mix of existing U.S. and global firms alongside new investors who have no affiliation with the Chinese parent. Tech giant Oracle and private equity firm Silver Lake are confirmed participants in the investor consortium, while President Trump has also publicly said that media baron Rupert Murdoch’s son Lachlan, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell are expected to be involved.
The deal will establish a new joint venture with a board of directors dominated by American members, though the U.S. government itself will not take an equity stake or hold seats on the committee.
The White House is confident Beijing has signed off on the broad outlines of the arrangement. “China is expected to sign and approve a framework deal for TikTok’s divestment by the end of the week,” the official said, noting that once that step is completed, Trump will issue a 120-day reprieve to allow investors and ByteDance to finalize legal and operational details.
The algorithm question
One of the thorniest issues in the talks has been the fate of TikTok’s content recommendation algorithm, the core of the app’s user experience and a focal point of U.S. national security concerns. American officials have long warned that the algorithm — which determines what videos users see — could be manipulated by Chinese authorities in subtle, hard-to-detect ways.
To address those concerns, the agreement gives Oracle control over a licensed copy of the algorithm, with full rights to oversee security and inspect the system for “any abnormal behavior.” The algorithm will also be retrained using U.S. data to ensure compliance with American standards.
“There can’t be any shared algorithm with ByteDance,” said a spokesperson for the House Select Committee on China.
The White House echoed this stance, emphasizing that TikTok U.S. would operate with its own retrained system. Still, officials clarified that users in America would continue to see videos from international accounts, preserving the app’s global connectivity.
A law-driven divestment
The push to force a TikTok divestment stems from legislation signed into law in 2024 by former President Joe Biden, who required ByteDance to sell its U.S. assets or face a nationwide ban. Trump, who returned to office in January, has since extended enforcement deadlines several times, citing ongoing negotiations with Beijing. The current law is set to take effect in mid-December unless the divestment is completed.
The White House said Trump’s forthcoming executive order will formally declare the new deal compliant with U.S. law and issue a fresh 120-day enforcement pause, giving investors and regulators time to close the transaction.
The progress on TikTok represents a rare bright spot in U.S.–China relations, which have been dominated in recent years by escalating tariffs, technology restrictions, and mutual accusations of unfair trade practices. Trump spoke directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, after which both sides signaled cautious optimism.
For Washington, securing control over TikTok’s U.S. operations is seen as a crucial step in preventing potential foreign influence over one of the country’s most widely used social media platforms. For Beijing, allowing ByteDance to divest without losing face represents a compromise in an otherwise hardening trade relationship.
“This deal is well on its way,” Trump told reporters over the weekend. “The investors are getting ready.”
Though many details — including the full list of investors — remain under wraps, the framework suggests TikTok will survive in the U.S. under new ownership, with Oracle in charge of safeguarding its technology and data. Still, legal and political challenges could emerge in the months ahead, especially if lawmakers or regulators demand stricter terms.
A preliminary deal to shift ownership of Chinese-owned TikTok to an American consortium led by Oracle wouldn’t give an equity stake or “golden share” to the U.S. government, several news outlets reported, citing an anonymous White House official. The U.S. consortium is set to license the video app’s algorithm, with plans to “retrain” it domestically to safeguard user data and block China’s access. ByteDance, TikTok’s current owner, would see its stake fall below 20%, in compliance with a law mandating its sale. The deal is expected to be signed this week.
