In the summer of 2020, the social media phenomenon TikTok found itself at the center of a geopolitical firestorm. The Trump administration, citing national security risks, issued executive orders that threatened to ban the wildly popular video-sharing app from the United States unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divested its U.S. operations. [[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump%E2%80%93TikTok_controversy)[[2]](https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-posed-tiktok/) This ultimatum triggered a frantic race to architect a deal that could satisfy Washington’s demands while preserving a platform used by over 100 million Americans. [[2]](https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-posed-tiktok/) The resulting proposal was a complex and unprecedented arrangement involving tech giant Oracle and retail behemoth Walmart, creating a new entity to be called “TikTok Global.”

The core of the U.S. government’s concern was ByteDance’s connection to the Chinese government. [[3]](https://www.american.edu/sis/news/20250123-national-security-and-the-tik-tok-ban.cfm) Lawmakers and intelligence officials feared that China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law could compel ByteDance to surrender the personal data of American users or manipulate the app’s powerful content algorithm for propaganda purposes. [[3]](https://www.american.edu/sis/news/20250123-national-security-and-the-tik-tok-ban.cfm)[[4]](https://www.clearyenforcementwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/487/2020/03/TikTok-Case-Study-Cleary-Final-3.18.2020-1.pdf) These concerns prompted a retroactive review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an inter-agency body that scrutinizes foreign acquisitions of U.S. businesses. [[4]](https://www.clearyenforcementwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/487/2020/03/TikTok-Case-Study-Cleary-Final-3.18.2020-1.pdf)[[5]](https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB10940) CFIUS’s investigation focused on ByteDance’s 2017 purchase of Musical.ly, an American app that was later merged into TikTok, providing the legal foundation for the administration to force a divestiture. [[5]](https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB10940)[[6]](https://www.winston.com/en/blogs-and-podcasts/global-trade-and-foreign-policy-insights/president-trump-accepts-cfiuss-recommendation-orders-tiktoks-chinese-owner-to-divest)

After a period of intense negotiations, a tentative agreement was announced in September 2020. [[7]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/09/19/oracle-and-walmart-to-acquire-20-stake-in-tiktok-trump-gives-his-blessing/) The deal was not a simple sale, but a sophisticated restructuring designed to insulate American user data and governance from Chinese influence. Under the plan, Oracle and Walmart would collectively acquire a 20% stake in the newly formed TikTok Global—12.5% for Oracle and 7.5% for Walmart. [[7]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/09/19/oracle-and-walmart-to-acquire-20-stake-in-tiktok-trump-gives-his-blessing/)[[8]](https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2020/09/19/walmart-statement-about-potential-investment-in-and-commercial-agreements-with-tiktok-global) The new company would be headquartered in the U.S. and would eventually hold an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on a U.S. stock exchange to further increase American ownership over time. [[8]](https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2020/09/19/walmart-statement-about-potential-investment-in-and-commercial-agreements-with-tiktok-global)[[9]](https://www.oracle.com/news/announcement/oracle-walmart-announce-tentative-us-government-approval-091920/)

The technical architecture of the deal was its most critical component. Oracle, a database and cloud computing giant, was designated as TikTok’s “secure cloud technology provider.” [[7]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/09/19/oracle-and-walmart-to-acquire-20-stake-in-tiktok-trump-gives-his-blessing/)[[9]](https://www.oracle.com/news/announcement/oracle-walmart-announce-tentative-us-government-approval-091920/) The plan stipulated that all U.S. user data would be migrated to Oracle’s Generation 2 Cloud infrastructure, physically located within the United States. [[9]](https://www.oracle.com/news/announcement/oracle-walmart-announce-tentative-us-government-approval-091920/) This was intended to create a digital fortress around American data, isolating it from ByteDance’s other operations. Furthermore, Oracle would be given the authority to conduct continuous code reviews and audits of TikTok’s source code to ensure no security backdoors were present that could allow for unauthorized data access. [[7]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/09/19/oracle-and-walmart-to-acquire-20-stake-in-tiktok-trump-gives-his-blessing/)

Governance was another key pillar of the proposed solution. The TikTok Global board of directors would consist of five members, four of whom would be Americans, including Walmart’s CEO. [[8]](https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2020/09/19/walmart-statement-about-potential-investment-in-and-commercial-agreements-with-tiktok-global)[[9]](https://www.oracle.com/news/announcement/oracle-walmart-announce-tentative-us-government-approval-091920/) This structure was designed to ensure that decisions regarding the platform’s U.S. operations and data security would be firmly in American hands. [[9]](https://www.oracle.com/news/announcement/oracle-walmart-announce-tentative-us-government-approval-091920/) For its part, Walmart’s involvement was driven by commercial ambitions, with the retailer planning to provide e-commerce, payment, and fulfillment services to the platform, tapping into the burgeoning field of social commerce. [[8]](https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2020/09/19/walmart-statement-about-potential-investment-in-and-commercial-agreements-with-tiktok-global)

The negotiations were often characterized by public confusion and surprising twists. In a notable television interview, then-President Donald Trump suggested that media executive Lachlan Murdoch and his father, Rupert Murdoch, would “probably” be involved in the investor group, alongside Oracle’s Larry Ellison and Michael Dell. [[10]](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/21/trump-rupert-lachlan-murdoch-tiktok)[[11]](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/trump-says-lachlan-murdoch-larry-ellison-and-michael-dell-involved-in-tiktok-deal-4247774) While this fueled speculation, the Murdochs were never formally included in the official deal structure announced by Oracle and Walmart, and the comments primarily served to highlight the fluid and unpredictable nature of the high-stakes discussions. [[8]](https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2020/09/19/walmart-statement-about-potential-investment-in-and-commercial-agreements-with-tiktok-global)[[10]](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/21/trump-rupert-lachlan-murdoch-tiktok)

The deal also came with promises of economic benefits, including the creation of over 25,000 new U.S. jobs and a $5 billion payment toward an educational fund. [[8]](https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2020/09/19/walmart-statement-about-potential-investment-in-and-commercial-agreements-with-tiktok-global)[[9]](https://www.oracle.com/news/announcement/oracle-walmart-announce-tentative-us-government-approval-091920/) Despite receiving a tentative “blessing” from the President, the deal was never finalized. [[7]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/09/19/oracle-and-walmart-to-acquire-20-stake-in-tiktok-trump-gives-his-blessing/) Legal challenges, the complexities of separating the highly integrated global technology, and a change in presidential administrations ultimately led to the plan being shelved. [[5]](https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB10940)[[12]](https://marketing4ecommerce.net/en/timeline-tiktok-war-united-states/) In June 2021, President Joe Biden officially revoked the Trump-era executive orders, replacing them with a broader review of foreign-owned apps. [[12]](https://marketing4ecommerce.net/en/timeline-tiktok-war-united-states/) Though the Oracle-Walmart deal never came to fruition, it remains a fascinating case study in the collision of technology, national security, and global politics.