Trump reveals which US billionaires and execs could take part in TikTok deal
FILE-In this photo illustration, the TikTok logos are seen on screens on January 18, 2025 in Hong Kong, China. (Photo by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump disclosed that some prominent billionaires and executives may be part of a deal in which the U.S. will take control of TikTok.
What billionaires and execs are being considered in the TikTok deal?
Dig deeper:
Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch, the head of Fox News and News Corp, and tech founder Michael Dell were namedropped by President Donald Trump as part of a group of possible participants in the deal for the social media platform during an interview recorded Friday and aired Sunday on Fox News.
According to the Associated Press, Trump also said Sunday that Oracle founder and Chairman Larry Ellison was part of the same group. His involvement had been disclosed previously.
RELATED: TikTok deal approved, Trump says after call with China’s Xi
The AP reported that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Saturday that Oracle would be responsible for the app’s data and security and that Americans will control six of the seven seats for a planned board.
Trump discussed the TikTok deal with China’s Xi Jinping in a phone call on Sept. 19. The AP noted that Chinese and U.S. officials have until Dec. 16 to hash out the details, after the latest deadline extension by the Trump administration.
TikTok faced ban
The backstory:
National security concerns prompted President Donald Trump to call for a nationwide TikTok ban and even sign an executive order back in 2020. That order was blocked by a court, but Congress passed legislation to that effect in 2024.
ByteDance and TikTok launched a legal challenge against the federal law, which was passed with bipartisan support in Congress and signed by then-President Joe Biden. In January, the two companies lost their case at the U.S. Supreme Court.
After taking office, Trump gave TikTok a 75-day reprieve by signing an executive order that delayed enforcement of the statute.
TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance and U.S. officials have argued that the algorithm TikTok uses to shape what users see is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can utilize it to promote content on the social media platform in a manner that’s challenging to track.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by previous LIVENOW from FOX reporting and the Associated Press. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.