Murdochs could take part in TikTok deal, Trump says

US President Donald Trump has announced that media mogul Lachlan Murdoch and business leaders Larry Ellison and Michael Dell will be involved as US investors in a proposed deal to keep TikTok operating in the United States.

Trump stated that the US and China have made progress on an agreement requiring TikTok’s US assets to be transferred to local owners from China’s ByteDance. With 170 million users in the United States, TikTok plays a significant role in shaping public discourse on politics and culture.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump praised the group, calling them prominent figures and “American patriots.” He said, “I think they’re going to do a really good job,” crediting TikTok with helping build his support among young voters in the 2024 presidential election.

Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corp, recently solidified long-term control of his family’s media empire—including Fox News and the Wall Street Journal—after settling a years-long legal battle with his siblings. Trump also suggested that the family patriarch, 94-year-old Rupert Murdoch, may be involved in the deal.

Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch’s news outlets generally attract conservative-leaning audiences but have occasionally drawn Trump’s ire. Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch over a July report alleging Trump signed a 2003 birthday greeting for the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that included a sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to shared secrets. The newspaper has defended its reporting and vowed to fight the lawsuit.

Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle and a major Republican donor, has long been linked to a potential TikTok deal. Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Technologies, is also expected to participate.

On Saturday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Oracle would be responsible for TikTok’s data and security. She added that US citizens will control six of the seven seats on a planned oversight board.

The Trump administration has declined to enforce a US law enacted during the previous administration that requires TikTok’s divestiture, citing concerns that US user data could be accessed by the Chinese government. Instead, negotiations over TikTok have been included as part of broader economic talks with China.

The Trump administration has also made several unusual interventions in US business, such as taking a 10 percent stake in Intel Corp and permitting AI chip giant Nvidia to sell its H20 chips to China in exchange for receiving 15 percent of those sales. Trump defended these moves as benefiting US interests.

However, critics—including some business leaders and Republican lawmakers—have called these interventions a stark departure from the norms of capitalism and warned that they risk undermining the competitiveness of the US economy.

(With reporting by AP)
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/technology/murdochs-could-take-part-in-tiktok-deal-trump-says-c-20098852