Murdoch’s Fox Corp. could join Trump deal to preserve TikTok in the U.S.

Another pair of influencers may join President Trump's efforts to keep TikTok in the US: Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch.

The Trump administration is working on an agreement that would keep the wildly popular social video service running for millions of Americans. Under a law signed by President Biden, US service TikTok must split from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or face extinction.

Congress passed the law amid security concerns over TikTok's ties to China and concerns that the app would give the communist government access to sensitive user data, which TikTok denies.

Trump revealed more details about the plan over the weekend. The president told Fox News on Sunday that the deal includes an Oracle Corp. co-founder. Larry Ellison, Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and probably Rupert Murdoch and his eldest son Lachlan.

“I think there will be two or three more really great people in the group, very outstanding people,” Trump said on “The Sunday Briefing.” Fox News. “They're also American patriots. They love this country, so I think they'll do a really good job.”

If the Murdochs were involved, it would be through their media company Fox Corp., which is investing in the deal, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly. The Fox Corporation owns Fox News, Fox Business and the Fox Broadcast Network. Fox News hosts openly support Trump.

The expected agreement will transfer TikTok's U.S. operations to a group of investors, most of whom are Americans, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told Fox News on Saturday. Texas cloud computing company Oracle will be responsible for the app's data and privacy in the US, she said.

Oracle co-founder and chief technology officer Ellison is a Trump ally and the second richest person in the world, according to Forbes. TikTok is already working with Oracle. As of October 2022, “all new protected user data in the US is stored on Oracle's secure infrastructure rather than on TikTok or ByteDance servers,” TikTok says on its website.

Leavitt told Fox News that six of the seven board seats controlling the TikTok app in the US will be held by Americans and that the app's algorithm will be controlled by America.

“We are 100 percent confident that the deal is done,” Leavitt said.

At a briefing Monday, Leavitt said Trump expects to sign the agreement later this week.

ByteDance will retain less than 20% of TikTok in the US. The group of investors is still being determined. told CNNciting a White House spokesman.

The White House, Dell Technologies and Oracle did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Fox Corp. declined to comment.

TikTok's future has been uncertain for months since the law was signed into law. After Biden signed the 2024 legislation, ByteDance was initially given a Jan. 19 deadline, which Trump has since extended several times. The current deadline is December 16th.

Any deal will also require approval from the Chinese government.

On Friday, Trump suggested on his social media platform Truth Social that Chinese President Xi Jinping had approved the pact during a phone call between the two leaders.

The reports quoted Chinese state news agency Xinhua as quoting Xi Jinping as saying that the Chinese government “respects the wishes of companies and welcomes them to conduct commercial negotiations based on market rules and reach solutions that comply with Chinese laws and regulations and balance interests.”

ByteDance thanked President Xi and President Trump “for their efforts to keep TikTok in the United States” in a statement Friday.

“ByteDance will work in accordance with applicable laws to ensure that TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok US,” the company said.

Trump said he believes TikTok played a key role in helping him reach younger voters and win the 2024 presidential election. During his first term, he was a prominent voice calling for a ban on TikTok during his broader campaign against China over trade and COVID-19 issues.