TikTok Finalizes Deal with US

TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance have officially formed a new U.S.-based entity to manage the platform’s American operations, resolving a years-long political and security standoff that threatened to ban the app in the United States.

The move, announced Thursday, transfers significant portions of TikTok’s U.S. business to non-Chinese investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake Management, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, ensuring compliance with U.S. regulatory requirements while maintaining continuity for users and creators.

“This structure is designed to safeguard American user data and place TikTok under American oversight,” the company said, noting that a seven-member board, with a U.S. majority, will supervise the platform’s operations.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will retain a seat on the new board, overseeing the company’s most valuable global assets, while his deputy, Adam Prieser, will lead the American entity as CEO. Oracle, long a partner in TikTok’s cloud infrastructure, will act as a security “guardian” to ensure compliance with U.S. law.

Under the arrangement, the new U.S. TikTok entity will be 50% owned by the incoming investors, with ByteDance retaining 19.9% and existing investors holding 30.1%.

The agreement concludes a contentious regulatory saga that began in 2020 under President Trump, when national security concerns prompted U.S. lawmakers to consider banning the app unless ByteDance divested TikTok’s American operations. Congress formally passed legislation in 2024 mandating such a sale, citing potential misuse of U.S. user data and influence over content by the Chinese government.

The deal allows TikTok to continue serving approximately 200 million American users without interruption, a relief to creators, brands, and small businesses reliant on the platform for income and audience engagement.

The new U.S. entity will operate independently, manage content oversight, and maintain user data within the United States. TikTok will license its content recommendation algorithm to the U.S. entity while retraining it using American user data. However, some critics argue that the structure does not fully comply with the 2024 U.S. national security law that requires full separation from ByteDance operations.

ByteDance maintains that the new joint venture adheres to an executive order issued by Trump in September 2024, allowing TikTok to operate in the U.S. under U.S. supervision while preserving certain commercial interests.

For the first time in years, TikTok’s U.S. future is secure, creating opportunities for investors, advertisers, and the tech ecosystem, while resolving a high-profile geopolitical and regulatory conflict between Washington and Beijing. The next steps involve final regulatory approvals and ensuring smooth operational integration under the new governance structure.