Donald Trump lays down his cards. The American president has the first names of the consortium revealed that it should take over TikTok in the United States, to avoid the dreaded “TikTok ban”. In an interview with Fox News, Trump cited some of America's most notable billionaires: Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, at the helm of the Fox media empire, Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, and Michael Dell, head of Dell Technologies. “A man named Lachlan is involved,” Trump said, implying that Rupert Murdoch’s son will play a role in the deal. “Rupert will probably be in the group. I think they will be in the group.”
Twitter ban in the US: doubts and clarifications
Despite the announcement, the there are few certainties leftA source close to the negotiations, quoted by Cnbc, explained that Lachlan Murdoch is unlikely to participate directly in the deal, although Fox Corporation could play a role. Trump, meanwhile, called the potential buyers "American patriots" and "really great, really important people," emphasizing his confidence in their ability to manage the platform in line with national interests.
The Chinese knot and the phone call with Xi
TikTok is today owned by the Chinese company ByteDanceThe law on the “TikTok ban” provides that theThe app will be blocked in the United States unless it passes into non-Chinese hands.The entry into force, initially set for January, has been postponed several times by Trump.
Last week the White House announced that it hadadded a preliminary agreement with BeijingThe topic was also addressed in a phone call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, but the details of the agreement have not been made public.
Ellison and Dell, Trump's loyalists
Besides the Murdochs, the other two names in the running have well-defined profiles. Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle andrecently crowned richest man of the world thanks to the boom in the stock, is a staunch supporter of Trump and a long-standing political ally. Michael Dell, on the other hand, has led one of the iconic computer hardware companies for decades and has often emphasized Dell Technologies' commitment to ethics and privacy. Both are prominent figures in the technology and financial sectors.
A game still open
Despite the presidential announcements, the path forward is far from clear. The following remain to be defined: technical and governance aspectsThe White House has determined that at least six of the seven members of TikTok USA's board must be American citizens, but it's not yet known how the transaction will be structured or when the sale might materialize. For now, Trump's announcement appears more like a wish list than a done deal.
