Trump Turns TikTok Into MAGA Media, Ban Becomes a Business Deal
President Donald Trump is going to change the future, especially in the United States. The ban passed by Congress is now in Trump’s hands. Instead of enforcing it, Trump plans to reverse the ban that affects his political and financial allies.
This Trump deal hands the control of U.S operational TikTok to a group of American investors. The reverse of this TikTok ban, which was implemented on security grounds, is raising serious concerns. Analysts see this as a national security concern that has been replaced by business interests.
TikTok’s Ban Was Locked In, Until Trump Broke the Rules
In April 2024, Congress passed a law requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. operations to U.S investors. They warn that either companies have to sell or face a nationwide ban by January 2025.
The decision was made on lawmakers’ fear of Americans’ personal data access or misuse by the Chinese government. However, on January 19, 2025, Trump delayed the ban. It was just one day before the deadline when Trump made the decision.
Over the next eight months, he issued multiple extensions. Finally, on September 25, 2025, he signed Executive Order 14350, approving a new ownership plan.
In this order, Trump said, “I have determined that the proposed divestiture would allow the millions of Americans who enjoy TikTok every day to continue using it while also protecting national security,”.
Who Owns TikTok Under The New Deal?
Now, TikTok’s U.S. operations will be run by a joint venture of American investors. ByteDance will own less than 20% and will not have the authority to make decisions regarding security or data.
The board will have a total of seven members. Out of these 7, six were chosen by U.S. investors and only one by ByteDance. Additionally, this single ByteDance member has no access to the security committee. The new ownership group includes:
- Larry Ellison, Oracle founder
- Michael Dell, Dell Technologies founder
- Rupert Murdoch, Fox News owner
- Silver Lake Partners, an investment firm
- MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based fund
- Andreessen Horowitz, tech investor
Oracle’s Big Part In Shaping New TikTok Era In U.S
Oracle will manage TikTok’s U.S. data and monitor its algorithm. It will actually decide what videos users see and what content should be hidden or filtered.
Trump said, “Oracle is playing a very big part. It’s owned by Americans, and very sophisticated Americans. This is going to be American-operated all the way”.
Vice President J.D. Vance added, “The U.S. company will have control over how the algorithm pushes content to users, and that was a very important part of it. We thought it was necessary for the national security element of the law”.
TikTok Now, MAGA Media or Fair Platform?
Trump’s own comments have raised concerns. “If I could make it 100% MAGA, I would, but it’s not going to work out that way, unfortunately,” he said. “Every group, every philosophy, every policy will be treated very fairly”.
Critics argue that this indicates the deal is more about politics than safety. With Trump-friendly investors in charge, some worry TikTok could become a platform that favours one side of the political spectrum.
Vice President Vance said, “We don’t want this used as a propaganda tool by any foreign government”.
China’s Role Still Important
Even though ByteDance will have less control, TikTok’s U.S. version will still use a licensed version of the original Chinese algorithm.
Trump claimed that Chinese President Xi Jinping approved the deal. He said, “I had a very good talk with President Xi. I have a lot of respect for him. Hopefully, he has a lot of respect for me too. And we talked about TikTok and he gave us the go-ahead”.
ByteDance has not made any public statements about the deal. No representatives from the company were present at the signing.
TikTok’s Reach and Value in the U.S.
TikTok has approximately 170 million users in the United States. It constitutes about half of the U.S. population. Around 43% of adults under 30 get their news from TikTok. Users spend an average of 44 hours a month on the app.
Vice President Vance said, “Americans can use TikTok, but actually use it with more confidence than they had in the past because their data is going to be secure and it’s not going to be used as a propaganda weapon against our fellow citizens”.
The new TikTok U.S. company is expected to be worth around $14 billion. This figure is much less than earlier estimates of $30–35 billion.
Analysts say ByteDance may not be happy with the low price, but Trump’s allies now own a powerful media tool. Wance admitted that “There was some resistance on the Chinese side”
However, he also added that “But the fundamental thing that we wanted to accomplish is that we wanted to keep TikTok operating, but we also wanted to make sure that we protected Americans’ data privacy as required by law”.
How will this deal impact The Users?
Trump’s decision has kept TikTok alive in the U.S.. However, TikTok is now under new leadership. The government says the deal will protect U.S. citizens and government data. But others fear that it will give more authority and power to a select group of wealthy and politically connected People. Let’s wait and see whether TikTok remains an app or evolves into a political tool.
