Key Points
- US President Donald Trump announced that Murdoch media empire to help with proposed deal to keep TikTok in the US.
- The deal would require TikTok's US assets to be transferred from China's ByteDance to American ownership.
- TikTok has 170 million users in the US and significantly influences political and cultural discourse.
US President Donald Trump says 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 has said that the US and China have made progress on a deal requiring TikTok's US assets to be transferred to local owners from China's ByteDance.
TikTok counts 170 million users in the United States and helps shape public discourse on politics and culture.
Trump praised the group in an interview with Fox News, calling them prominent people and "American patriots".
"I think they're going to do a really good job," Trump said, crediting TikTok with helping build his support among young voters in the 2024 presidential election.
Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO of Fox Corp, recently cemented long-term control of his family's media empire that includes Fox News and the Wall Street Journal after settling a years-long legal battle with his siblings.
The family patriarch, 94-year-old Rupert Murdoch, may also be involved in the deal, Trump said.
Any investment in TikTok US would come through Fox Corp, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters news agency.
The Murdochs would not invest as individuals, nor would News Corp, parent company of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, these sources said.
Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch's news outlets attract conservative-minded audiences but they have occasionally drawn Trump's ire.
Trump sued the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch for defamation over a July report that said Trump signed a 2003 birthday greeting for 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.
Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle and a major Republican donor, has long been linked to a potential TikTok deal.
On Sunday AEST, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Oracle would be responsible for TikTok's data and security and that US citizens will control six of the seven seats for a planned board.
Trump's administration has declined to enforce a US law enacted during his predecessor's administration requiring TikTok's divestiture over fears its US user data could be accessed by the Chinese government.
Trump has included negotiations over the app as part of wide-ranging economic talks with China.
