Kevin O’Leary, chairman of O’Leary Ventures, explains what President Donald Trump’s TikTok deal means for the economy and shares his thoughts on the looming government shutdown on “The Bottom Line.”
The United States and China signed the agreement on Thursday. TikTok US The spinoff deal will allow the short-form video app to continue operating in the U.S. by addressing concerns about its Chinese parent company ByteDance, a White House official confirmed to FOX Business.
TikTok’s new U.S. joint venture, which includes a group of mostly American investors led by Oracle and Silver Lake, was revealed last month when TikTok CEO Hsu Chiu told employees in an internal memo that the company had signed an agreement to form a new entity.
In the memo, he explained that the new organization would address concerns from U.S. lawmakers about the ability of the Chinese government to use its influence over ByteDance to use the platform for propaganda purposes and access data on the platform’s 170 million U.S. users.
Under the terms of the agreement, ByteDance will own nearly 20% of the new U.S. entity, with 15% of the venture’s shares going to Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX.
President Trump signs executive order allowing TikTok deal to proceed
A technology company exhibiting a booth at BRIDGE Summit 2025 held at ADNEC, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on December 10, 2025. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The January 22 closing date was set when President Donald Trump signed an executive order in September that delayed for 120 days the implementation of a 2024 law signed by then-President Joe Biden that required ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a ban on operating in the country.
The bipartisan legislation, known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Control Applications Act, prohibits social media apps associated with hostile foreign governments, such as China, from being available in U.S. app stores. The law survived a Supreme Court challenge and went into effect in January 2025, but President Trump signed multiple extensions delaying implementation in pursuit of a deal.
From ban to acceptance: Trump’s evolution on TikTok and what’s next
At an event announcing President Trump’s executive order in September, Vice President J.D. Vance said the deal values ​​TikTok’s U.S. operations at approximately $14 billion, adding, “The most important thing is to ensure that Americans’ data security is protected and that TikTok continues to be accessible.”
Vance added that the agreement ensures that “U.S. entities and U.S. investors have actual control over the algorithms” and prevents them from being used to spread foreign government propaganda.
