TikTok secures future in US with new Ownership deal

TikTok has announced a long-awaited deal that will allow the popular short-video app to continue operating in the United States, ending years of political and legal uncertainty.

Under the agreement, TikTok will separate its US operations from its global business through a new entity called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. The move follows prolonged pressure from Washington over national security concerns linked to the app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance.

The deal was announced on Thursday, months before a January 2025 deadline that would have seen TikTok banned in the US if ByteDance failed to divest its American operations. US President Donald Trump had repeatedly delayed enforcement of the ban after returning to office.

A central issue in the negotiations was TikTok’s powerful content recommendation algorithm. Under the new arrangement, the algorithm will be licensed to the US entity and retrained using only US user data. TikTok said the data and algorithm will be secured within Oracle’s US-based cloud system, in line with American data protection and cybersecurity rules.

TikTok said the new joint venture will operate independently and be governed by a seven-member board with a majority of American directors. Adam Presser, a former WarnerMedia executive, has been appointed chief executive of the US business.

Three managing investors—Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based technology investor MGX—will each hold a 15 percent stake. ByteDance will retain a 19.9 percent share, while the remaining 35.1 percent will be held by other investors, including firms linked to US technology executives.

Oracle will play a key role in securing US user data and overseeing the retraining of the algorithm. TikTok’s global chief executive Shou Zi Chew will also sit on the board of the new company.

For years, US lawmakers had argued that TikTok posed a national security risk, citing fears that the Chinese government could access American user data. TikTok and ByteDance have repeatedly denied such claims.

The idea of banning TikTok was first raised during Trump’s first term in 2020 and gained momentum under President Joe Biden, who signed legislation in 2024 requiring a sale or ban. A legal battle followed, and the app briefly went offline for US users last year before political intervention restored access.

Experts say the new US-only algorithm could change how TikTok works for its estimated 200 million American users, though the full impact remains unclear. Some analysts suggest the app may become lighter or operate differently from the global version.

Reacting to the announcement, Trump said on social media that he was “happy to have helped save TikTok.” The White House and the Chinese embassy in Washington have been contacted for comment.