President Donald Trump has signed an order to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations to American and global investors — a $14 billion plan to save the app from a ban.
The order, announced Thursday, gives companies until January 20 to strike a deal with China’s ByteDance, TikTok’s owner, or face a nationwide shutdown.
Vice President James Vance said the new U.S.-run TikTok company would be worth around $14 billion, calling it a “good deal for investors.”
The biggest question? TikTok’s famous algorithm, the secret sauce behind its addictive feed. Under Trump’s order, it will be retrained, monitored by U.S. security, and controlled by the new joint venture.
Trump said he spoke directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who gave the green light.
TikTok, with 170 million American users, has become a political powerhouse — even Trump admits it helped him win reelection last year. He boasts 15 million followers on his own account, and the White House just launched an official TikTok page.
The president promised: “This is going to be American-operated all the way.”
Big names rumored to join the deal include Michael Dell of Dell Technologies and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, along with “four or five world-class investors.”
China’s embassy and TikTok have yet to comment.
