The threatened TikTok ban is finally coming to a close. Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi’s MGX will be main investors in TikTok’s U.S. business, according to a report from CNBC. Trump is also expected to sign an executive order today that will pave the way for the new iteration of the app in the U.S.
Those three companies will control roughly 45% of the American version of TikTok. As for ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, it will own 19.9% of the entity. The remaining 35% will be owned by ByteDance investors as well as new holders.
Threats to ban TikTok in the U.S. first started in 2020. Towards the end of Trump’s first term in office, he signed an executive order banning any transactions between U.S. companies and ByteDance, the social media platform’s Chinese parent company. Afterwards, Trump issued an executive order, giving the company 90 days to either sell TikTok to U.S.-based buyers or risk being banned in the country.
That executive order was repealed by Biden. But during Biden’s term, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress following concerns that Chinese employees accessed the personal information of American citizens through the app. Near the end of Biden’s term, he signed a bill calling for the sale or banning of TikTok, which gave ByteDance 270 days to sell.
TikTok’s future has remained maddeningly uncertain throughout Trump’s second term. The original deadline has now been delayed four different times with the most recent delay happening earlier this month. The new deadline is set for mid-December.
