On January 25 local time, US President Donald Trump said he is negotiating with many parties about acquiring short video sharing app TikTok and may make a decision on the future of this app within the next 30 days.
The Trump administration is working on a plan to rescue TikTok by partnering with technology giant Oracle and a group of outside investors to take control of the app’s operations, according to two people familiar with the matter. TikTok has 170 million users in the United States.
Under the deal being negotiated by the White House, TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance would retain a stake in the business but Oracle would oversee data collection and software updates.
Oracle, which already provides the foundation for TikTok’s infrastructure, is expected to be responsible for addressing national security concerns, one of the sources added.
The terms of the deal are unclear and subject to change, the sources added. The full scope of the discussions has not yet been determined, but could include operations in the United States and other regions, one of the sources said.
The US government and Oracle have not commented on the matter.
The deal under negotiation is expected to involve ByteDance’s existing US investors, according to sources. Firms such as Susquehanna International Group, investment firm General Atlantic, global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and venture capital firm Sequoia Capital are among ByteDance’s US backers.
Other parties competing to buy TikTok, including a group led by billionaire Frank McCourt and another group led by YouTube star Mr. Beast, are not involved in the Oracle talks, one of the sources added.
TikTok's leadership will continue to run the short-video app, one of the sources said.
TikTok temporarily shut down its operations in the United States just before a law took effect on January 19 that would have required ByteDance to sell TikTok or be banned from operating in the United States on national security grounds. A day after taking office, President Trump signed an executive order delaying the law by 75 days after U.S. officials warned that Americans’ data was at risk of misuse under ByteDance’s control.
Oracle and the White House met on January 24 about a potential deal and another meeting is scheduled for next week, according to a source.
In 2022, TikTok reached a deal with Oracle to store user information in the US to ease Washington's concerns about foreign government interference.