In the rare executive order from the current White House that did not immediately provoke a weary, broken “Aw, Christ” from our lips, Donald Trump signed a new EO tonight stating that a still-solidifying deal to “save” TikTok has formally met his approval. As such, the deal has apparently qualified as the “qualified divestiture” necessary to keep TikTok from being affected by the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act that went into effect during the final days of the Biden administration, and which Trump has been kicking the can on ever since.
Although the Order says that Trump’s White House believes the sale framework will address national security concerns surrounding TikTok—i.e., it being owned by ByteDance, a China-based company—it’s weirdly light on details about who’s actually buying the Stateside version of the service. Instead, it simply states that a joint venture “majority-owned and controlled by United States persons” will take control of its operation and ownership, with less than 20 percent of ownership based in China. (Per Variety, the number is now 19.9 percent.) Trump has previously given out the names of at least a few of the young, hip investors who have, out of the goodness of their hearts, taken on the burden of owning this extremely successful social media platform for the youths, including 91-year-old Rupert Murdoch and a relatively spritely Larry Ellison, with Oracle expected to own a decent chunk of the new company. (CNBC also reports that at least one major new owner will be MGX, a state-owned investment firm created by the Abu Dhabi government last year so it could invest in A.I.)
Chinese leadership has indicated its acceptance of the sale framework, although the actual details of the sale are still pending approval by Chinese regulators.
