Overview

• President Donald Trump signed an executive order endorsing a framework to move TikTok’s U.S. operations into a majority U.S.-owned joint venture, with ByteDance holding under 20 percent.
• Administration officials say the U.S. entity will control how the recommendation algorithm serves content and will store American user data in a U.S.-run cloud, with Oracle named as a key security partner.
• Multiple outlets report the algorithm would be licensed from ByteDance, a structure critics warn could preserve Chinese influence and fall short of the divest-or-ban statute’s severance requirement.
• China has not publicly confirmed approval despite Trump’s claim of Xi Jinping’s go‑ahead, and the administration has extended enforcement deadlines into mid‑December as congressional oversight ramps up.
• The White House cited a roughly $14 billion valuation and identified investors including Oracle, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch, while reports suggest ByteDance could still collect significant profits via licensing as users may eventually migrate to a U.S.-specific app.