TikTok has finalized a pivotal agreement to establish a standalone U.S. operation, directly responding to longstanding national security concerns and effectively preventing a potential nationwide ban.
CEO Shou Chew confirmed the deal in an internal memo, outlining a complex joint venture that will assume control of the American app. This arrangement, actively backed by the Trump administration, aims to sever operational ties between the U.S. platform and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, by placing governance and data stewardship under American oversight.
The newly formed entity will be predominantly owned by a consortium of U.S. investors, including technology giant Oracle and private equity firm Silver Lake, who together will hold a 50% stake. Current ByteDance investors will retain just over 30%, while ByteDance itself will keep a minority share of 19.9%.
A critical component of the agreement mandates that the proprietary TikTok algorithm for the U.S. market be entirely retrained using American user data, with Oracle tasked with overseeing and securing all domestic data storage. Furthermore, this new U.S. venture will independently manage all content moderation for its users.
Despite this operational separation, ByteDance’s global entity will maintain a significant role, continuing to manage core business functions like advertising, e-commerce, and marketing on the U.S. platform.
Finalization of the deal, targeted for January 22, 2026, remains contingent upon multiple regulatory approvals. While former President Trump has expressed confidence in China’s acquiescence, official endorsement from Beijing is still pending. Chinese officials have offered only a standard referral to competent authorities, underscoring the diplomatic sensitivities still at play.
This creates a final layer of uncertainty for a deal that reshapes the social media landscape and sets a new precedent for the handling of foreign-owned tech platforms in the United States.
