Trump and ByteDance tout TikTok deal approval, but no official details yet

President Trump on Friday announced^[1] that the TikTok deal, which would potentially see the video platform controlled by a consortium of U.S. investors, had been approved by President Xi of China. TikTok owner ByteDance also issued a public statement^[2] saying the company would work to ensure that TikTok “remains available to American users through TikTok U.S.”

No further details about the deal were offered at the time.

The two countries have been working on a way to save TikTok’s U.S. business, after the TikTok ban in January^[3] over national security concerns. That ban was put on hold^[4] multiple times by the Trump administration amid a consumer and creator backlash against the app’s removal.

This week, Trump hinted on his social media platform Truth Social that a deal had been reached and the buyer would be announced soon. A report from The Wall Street Journal confirmed that investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz, would hold an 80% in the U.S. TikTok entity^[5], with the Chinese shareholders owning the rest. The new company’s board would also be largely from the U.S., with one board member appointed by the U.S. government itself.

“The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval,” Trump noted on his Truth Social account on Friday, after saying that one of the items addressed during the call was the deal’s approval.

On TikTok’s website, the company shared a statement attributed to a ByteDance spokesperson that reads: “We thank President Xi Jinping and President Donald J. Trump for their efforts to preserve TikTok in the United States. ByteDance will work in accordance with applicable laws to ensure TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok U.S.”
^[6]