President Donald Trump is expected to sign the long-awaited deal to spin off TikTok’s US operations from Chinese parent ByteDance this week, but big questions remain about how the arrangement will actually work.
The White House says the new joint venture will be controlled by American investors, led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz, with ByteDance reduced to less than 20% ownership. Six of the seven board seats will be held by Americans, and Oracle will serve as TikTok’s official security provider.
But experts warn the details raise more questions than answers:
- Corporate control: ByteDance will still keep a stake and a licensing deal for TikTok’s algorithm, leaving open how independent the U.S. entity really is.
- Technical hurdles: The U.S. app will rely on a copy of TikTok’s algorithm, “retrained” on U.S. data, but Oracle won’t be allowed to rewrite it — only inspect and monitor its behaviour.
- Congressional skepticism: Lawmakers who passed the 2024 law forcing TikTok’s sale worry this deal may not fully comply, since ByteDance still retains influence. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) said the agreement could “allow continued Chinese control or influence.”
- China’s approval: Beijing still needs to sign off, making the deal another bargaining chip in U.S.-China trade talks.
Analysts also note that US users are unlikely to notice big changes day-to-day, since both the U.S. and global TikTok apps will continue running in parallel. Still, critics argue that without full algorithm control, data separation remains shaky.
Trump may soon declare TikTok “under American control,” but the fine print tells a more complicated story. Oracle gains a critical role as gatekeeper, but questions over real security, Chinese influence, and political approval mean this fight is far from over.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
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