TikTok navigates USA ban with strategic Oracle partnership

After months of uncertainty, China’s ByteDance has handed control of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a consortium led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz, averting a potential shutdown that ensures the app continues to connect creators and users without interruption.

By Nhlanhla Muthe

TikTok, with over 100 million users in Africa, has sidestepped a looming ban in the United States after China’s ByteDance agreed to transfer control of its domestic operations to a consortium of American investors led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz.

According to Reuters, President Donald Trump revealed that an agreement has been reached with China to keep the popular short video App operating in the United States.

"We have a deal on TikTok. We have a group of very big American companies that want to buy it," Trump said at a White House briefing, without providing further details.

The announcement that came just a day before the September 17 deadline to sell or shut down the social media platform in America, says 80% of TikTok’s USA entity will be locally owned, while ByteDance retains a 20% minority stake. A new US-only app will run on separate algorithms and American servers, with government oversight embedded at the board level.

The new framework puts to bed White House security concerns that TikTok might allow the Chinese government to access U.S. user data, which they feared could have been used for spying or influencing users.

As a result of the breakthrough, the Trump administration has extended the deadline to December 16. With 170 million U.S users, the short video App’s deal marks a major turning point after months of high-stakes negotiations between the world’s two largest economies.

For Africa, one of TikTok’s fastest-growing regions with over 100 million users, the agreement between Washington and Beijing brings relief but also new challenges. African creators like Nigeria’s Purplespeedy and itsyaboymaina, South Africa’s Wian, and Senegal-born global star Khaby Lame rely heavily on the app to reach worldwide audiences. Much of their visibility comes from the USA market, where viral content often originates before spreading globally.

It is against this background that many African influencers are closely watching the developments. TikTok is not just entertainment but a livelihood for many content creators across the continent who depend on the platform’s visibility to attract sponsorships and global recognition.

America’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent assured CNBC that the wait would not be long as the commercial terms of the deal had been done with just a few details left to be ironed out within the next 30 to 45 days

"This deal wouldn't be done without proper safeguards for U.S. national security. It seems as though we were also able to meet the Chinese interest," Bessent told CNBC.