The White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt announced on Monday (September 22) that President Trump will sign the TikTok agreement later this week. Another White House official stated that the US government will not hold any equity or “golden share” in TikTok.
Leavitt shared this news during a press briefing held at the White House, adding that according to the terms of the deal, the majority stake in TikTok’s US operations will be owned by American investors, with a board of directors possessing extensive national security and cybersecurity qualifications in control. In partnership with the US government, Oracle will become a trusted security provider for TikTok. They will independently monitor the data security of all US users.
Trump, after a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last Friday (September 19), stated that China has approved the TikTok deal. Leavitt mentioned the next day that the signing of the agreement is expected to be completed in the coming days.
Senior White House officials revealed in a phone call with the media on Monday that under the agreement, the US federal government will not hold any equity or “golden share” in TikTok, nor will it have a seat on the company’s board of directors.
Leavitt stated last Saturday (September 20) that the board of directors for TikTok’s US operations will consist of seven seats, with six held by Americans and one by a representative from China.
The White House officials stated during Monday’s phone call that these board members will not be appointed by the government.
The agreement stipulates that all data of US users must be stored on the US cloud computing infrastructure operated by Oracle.
White House officials mentioned that the new US investors in TikTok include Oracle and the private equity firm Silver Lake Management LLC. The final list of investors is yet to be determined.
President Trump, in an interview with Fox on Sunday (September 21), mentioned media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch, Oracle executive and co-founder Larry Ellison, and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell as potential buyers in the acquisition group.