ByteDance and investors will have 120 days to close a deal that gives Oracle control of TikTok’s US algorithm.
The Trump administration is touting a deal that will prevent the popular social media app TikTok from going dark, while wrestling it from Chinese control.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order this week that will give American investors and China-based ByteDance 120 more days to seek necessary regulatory approvals and close a deal.
Here’s what to know:
New Joint Venture Will Be Majority American Owned
Senior White House officials confirmed on Monday that U.S. cloud company Oracle will be among the investors, as well as private equity firm Silver Lake.
Speaking to Fox News on Sept. 22, the president said media moguls Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch will likely have a role, as well as Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. He said that all of the new would-be investors are “patriotic” Americans.
Trump has pushed for U.S. ownership of TikTok since his first administration, and several tech giants and wealthy investors have voiced interest in purchasing the app over the years.
The new joint venture will require ByteDance to own a stake that is below 20 percent, and its board member will not participate in its security committee.
A senior White House official said Saturday that the new joint venture will have seven total board seats, six to be held by Americans residing in the United States with cybersecurity and national security backgrounds, according to Reuters.
The U.S. government will not take a stake in the new joint venture, nor have a seat on the board.
Officials declined to comment on the valuation of the joint venture beyond saying it is expected to be “in the many billions.”
US to License, Retrain TikTok Algorithm
A copy of the infamous TikTok algorithm will be brought under the new joint venture’s control, overseen by Oracle, “outside of ByteDance’s control,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Sept. 22.
Oracle, which already hosts the data of U.S. TikTok users on its servers in the United States, will also serve as the security provider for the app.
This involves inspecting how the app interacts with users’ devices, how the content recommendation algorithm works, and the code and updates, including completely retraining the algorithm with U.S. data and observing it for signs of malicious influence, the White House official said Monday.
