The Trump administration has ramped up discussions over a potential deal regarding TikTok, with President Donald Trump revealing significant figures who may become involved. In an interview with Fox News, Trump mentioned that media moguls Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan are “probably” going to take part in this venture. He specifically noted that “a man named Lachlan is involved,” suggesting an imminent role for Lachlan Murdoch, while hinting at Rupert Murdoch’s likely involvement.
In addition to the Murdochs, Trump identified other key individuals, including Oracle’s executive chairman, Larry Ellison, and Dell Technologies CEO, Michael Dell, as potential players in this investment group. While the president did not clarify whether these were personal or corporate investments, Deadline subsequently reported that Fox Corp—parent company of Fox News and led by CEO Lachlan Murdoch—is indeed in negotiations to join an investment group aimed at facilitating TikTok’s separation from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated this development during a separate appearance on Fox News, where she disclosed that an agreement regarding the spin-off had been reached, albeit not yet signed. Leavitt confirmed that under the proposed plan, American interests would control six of the seven board seats of the newly structured TikTok. Additionally, its algorithm is set to be managed by U.S. entities, ensuring national oversight over the platform’s operations.
According to Bloomberg, a senior White House official also outlined that Oracle, alongside venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and private equity firm Silver Lake Management, would be active investors in TikTok. Oracle would assume responsibility for ensuring the app’s security and safety, with ByteDance retaining a minority stake of less than 20% in the newly spun-off company.
This move comes in light of a federal bill passed last year that aimed to ban TikTok unless it transitioned to new ownership by January. Despite briefly going dark in the U.S., the app remained operational as Trump extended deadlines for ByteDance to sell its assets. He recently affirmed that China’s president Xi Jinping had approved the deal. In a statement, TikTok expressed gratitude to both Xi and Trump for their roles in ensuring the platform’s continued presence in the United States.
ByteDance has committed to adhering to U.S. regulations to keep TikTok accessible for American users through its U.S. operations, as the negotiations progress and an official agreement approaches.
