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United States President Donald J. Trump announced on Truth Social that a deal was finalised to restructure TikTok's ownership, ensuring the platform remains active for its 200 million American users.
"I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok!" Trump stated, noting that the application "will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World, and will be an important Voice." Trump credited the platform's survival as a factor in his recent political success. "Along with other factors, it was responsible for my doing so well with the Youth Vote in the 2024 Presidential Election," he stated. He expressed a desire to be "remembered by those who use and love TikTok" and extended gratitude to Vice President JD Vance and his administration for bringing the deal to a "final, and beautiful conclusion." The president also acknowledged international cooperation in the agreement. "I would also like to thank President Xi, of China, for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal," Trump said. "He could have gone the other way, but didn't, and is appreciated for his decision." The announcement follows the formation of a new joint venture created to spin off TikTok's United States operations. The move concludes a multi-year legal and political dispute regarding national security and data privacy. According to a press release, the new entity includes significant equity stakes from a consortium of global investors and the original parent company. The agreement specifies that tech giant Oracle, UAE-based MGX, and investment firm Silver Lake each hold a 15 per cent stake in the new venture. ByteDance, the Chinese parent company, retains a 19.9 per cent share. This restructuring follows a 2024 law passed by Congress with bipartisan support that mandated TikTok divest from ByteDance or face a total ban in the United States. While the Supreme Court upheld the law, the current administration provided a window for the deal to materialise after a brief 14-hour service interruption in early 2025. The company stated in its press release that the new joint venture "will operate under defined safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurances for U.S. users." Beyond the flagship video platform, the scope of this deal extends to other assets within the ByteDance ecosystem. The TikTok press release says the joint venture "will also cover other apps in the ByteDance portfolio, including CapCut and Lemon8." This inclusion ensures that the secondary applications used for video editing and social sharing also comply with the newly established security protocols and ownership structure required by United States regulators. (ANI)
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