At the start of the year, it was unclear if TikTok would continue to exist in the US. However, US President Donald Trump stepped in and basically hit pause on the ban by giving the app multiple extensions. Now, it looks like all of this can soon be put to bed. This is because Trump has recently signed an order for TikTok, effectively officially announcing that TikTok would be sold to the US .
Trump signs order that puts TikTok into US hands
According to the executive order , which is called “Saving TikTok while protecting national security,” it basically outlines the plan Trump has put into place that would see ByteDance sell its TikTok operations to the US.
Trump was quoted in the executive order as saying, “Accordingly, I have determined that the proposed divestiture would allow the millions of Americans who enjoy TikTok every day to continue using it while also protecting national security.”
The US President also told reporters during a briefing, “I spoke with President Xi [Jinping], we had a good talk. I told him what we were doing, and he said, ‘Go ahead with it.’” Vice President JD Vance also noted that China had initially resisted the idea, but they ultimately gave it the go-ahead.
“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.”
What does this mean for TikTok?
Right now, it doesn’t look like things will change for users. The app will continue to operate and users can keep using it like they always do. However, there are obviously going to be some changes. But those changes will take place behind the scenes.
For starters, TikTok US will have new owners. According to Reuters, who cited its sources , this includes US companies such as Oracle and Silver Lake. CNBC also notes that one of the owners is MGX , a company based in Abu Dhabi. These companies are expected to hold a 50% stake in the company. ByteDance shareholders are expected to hold a roughly 30% stake.
It is also expected that engineers at Oracle will tweak the underlying algorithm. This is to ensure that the app complies with national security standards. It will also place a stronger focus on US-based content.
