Existing ByteDance investors emerge as front-runners in TikTok deal talks - The Standard
Summary
The plan entails spinning off a US entity for TikTok and diluting Chinese ownership in the new business to below the 20 percent threshold required by US law, rescuing the app from a looming US ban, said the sources, who asked to be kept anonymous because they were not authorized to speak on record. The law, passed last year with broad bipartisan support, reflects concern in Washington that TikToks ownership makes it beholden to the Chinese government and that Beijing could use the app to conduct influence operations against the United States. US President Donald Trump issued an executive order postponing enforcement of the law to April 5 shortly after taking office and said last month that he could further extend that deadline to give himself time to shepherd a deal. Reuters and others reported in January that Trumps administration was working on a plan for TikTok that would involve tapping Oracle and some existing ByteDance investors to take control of the apps operations. Under the prospective deal, ByteDance would retain a stake in the company but data collection and software updates would be overseen by Oracle, which already provides the foundation of TikToks infrastructure under an arrangement negotiated during Trumps first term.