A legal battle has erupted over the future of TikTok in the United States, as two prominent investors have launched a lawsuit challenging a deal struck with the Trump administration. The plaintiffs allege the agreement fails to adequately address national security concerns and violates a recently enacted law designed to sever ties between the app and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
Zhaocheng Anthony Tan, an Alphabet investor, and Garrett Reid, representing Meta, are the driving forces behind the challenge. Their lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, directly names President Trump and former Attorney General Pam Bondi, arguing the finalized deal doesn’t truly dismantle ByteDance’s control over TikTok’s core operations.
The core of the argument centers on the belief that ByteDance would retain significant influence, even under the proposed arrangement. The lawsuit contends this continued control would allow the potential for the spread of propaganda and censorship, precisely the risks the “TikTok Law” – officially known as the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act – aimed to prevent.
This law established a firm deadline of January 19, 2025, for TikTok to fully divest from ByteDance or face a complete ban within the U.S. market. The Trump administration initially extended this deadline multiple times throughout 2025, before ultimately unveiling a plan intended to preserve access to the wildly popular app for its hundreds of millions of American users.
The proposed solution involved TikTok’s U.S. operations being sold to a consortium of American investors. Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX each secured a 15% stake in the venture, with additional investment coming from Michael Dell’s personal investment firm. This arrangement, however, is now under intense scrutiny.
The plaintiffs assert that the deal appears to reward individuals with close ties to the former president. Oracle’s co-founder, Larry Ellison, and Dell’s financial backing of Trump’s new media venture raise questions about potential conflicts of interest. Further fueling these concerns are substantial political donations from investors like Jeff Yass and William Ford to organizations supporting Trump’s political activities.
Beyond the political implications, the investors claim they have experienced direct financial harm as a result of the deal’s announcement. As stakeholders in TikTok’s competitors, they argue the agreement unfairly advantages the app, potentially stifling competition and impacting their own investments.
The lawsuit paints a picture of a deal that prioritizes political connections over genuine national security concerns. It suggests the arrangement was crafted not to protect American users, but to benefit allies and potentially undermine the intent of the law designed to safeguard the nation’s digital landscape.
