U.S. Investors Sue Trump Administration Over TikTok Ownership Deal
A fresh legal dispute has emerged in D.C. as Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi face a lawsuit challenging last year’s approval of a revised ownership arrangement for the American operations of TikTok.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, claims the U.S. government unlawfully endorsed an agreement involving TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and a newly formed joint venture intended to place the platform’s U.S. business under majority American control.
The case was brought by the Public Integrity Project, representing two U.S. retail investors whose portfolios include shares in competing social media firms.
According to the complaint, the White House and the United States Department of Justice failed to follow legal requirements and procedural safeguards when they approved the deal. The plaintiffs argue the decision did not fully comply with provisions of the 2024 national security law governing foreign investment in sensitive digital platforms.
The lawsuit contends that there is insufficient evidence showing that ByteDance would relinquish meaningful control over TikTok’s data flows, algorithms, and content moderation systems—areas critics say could present national security risks and allow foreign influence over U.S. public discourse.
The plaintiffs also claim that the structure of the arrangement could grant individuals closely connected to the Trump administration veto power over certain operations of the platform, potentially enabling political censorship on one of the world’s most widely used social media services.
Earlier reports indicated that President Trump confirmed in September 2025 that media executives Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch were part of the investor group expected to take control of TikTok’s U.S. operations. During an interview with Fox News, Trump said Lachlan Murdoch was already involved in the deal and suggested his father could also join the investment group.
He further noted that Larry Ellison, executive chairman of Oracle Corporation, and Michael Dell, chief executive of Dell Technologies, were also likely to participate.
Under the proposed arrangement, TikTok had agreed with Oracle Corporation, Silver Lake, and MGX to establish a U.S.-majority joint venture. American investors are expected to hold a 45 percent stake, while ByteDance would retain a minority share.
The transaction is currently scheduled to close on January 22, 2026, although the ongoing legal challenge could complicate the timeline.
