WASHINGTON D.C. – The White House revealed further details Saturday regarding a potential agreement to restructure TikTok‘s U.S. operations, averting a potential ban. The deal, still awaiting signatures, would place majority ownership of TikTok’s U.S. business in American hands and grant the U.S. government significant oversight of the popular short-form video platform.
According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, appearing on Fox News, Americans will occupy six of seven seats on TikTok’s restructured board of directors.Critically, the app’s algorithm-a key concern for national security officials-will be controlled by a U.S.-based entity. “So all of those details have already been agreed upon, now we just need this deal to be signed and that will be happening, I anticipate, in the coming days,” Leavitt stated.
New investment in the spun-off TikTok U.S. will come from oracle, Andreessen Horowitz, and Silver Lake Management, a senior White House official told Bloomberg. Oracle will be responsible for the app’s security and safety infrastructure. ByteDance, TikTok’s current parent company, would retain less than 20% ownership in the new entity.
The agreement follows repeated extensions by President Donald Trump of a deadline for TikTok to find new ownership or face a U.S. ban.Trump announced Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had given his approval for the deal, resolving a major point of contention in the negotiations. The situation arose from concerns over potential data security risks and the influence of the Chinese government on the platform.
