TikTok Chinese parent company ByteDance has signed binding agreements with a group of US and global investors to continue operating the platform in the United States, according to a message sent to employees by TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on Thursday.
The deal creates a new joint venture that will oversee TikTok’s US business and is expected to close on January 22. It is designed to address long-standing US national security concerns that have threatened to ban the app unless its American operations were separated from Chinese ownership.
Ownership Structure of the New Venture
Under the agreement, 50% of the joint venture will be owned by a consortium of investors that includes Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX.
ByteDance will retain a 19.9% stake, while affiliates of existing ByteDance investors will hold 30.1%. Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX will each control 15% of the business.
In an internal memo, TikTok said the deal would allow “more than 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities” on the platform.
The White House has previously said that Oracle—co-founded by Trump ally Larry Ellison—will license TikTok’s recommendation algorithm as part of the arrangement.
Deal Ends Years of Political Uncertainty
The agreement follows years of pressure from Washington to force ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US operations. In April 2024, during President Joe Biden’s administration, Congress passed a law that would ban the app unless it was sold, citing national security risks.
That law was due to take effect on January 20, 2025, but enforcement was repeatedly delayed by President Donald Trump, who sought more time to negotiate a compromise.
Trump said in September that he had discussed the deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping, claiming Beijing had approved the structure. However, TikTok’s future remained uncertain following continued US-China tensions over trade and technology.
“TIkTok has become a bargaining chip in the broader US-China relationship,” said Alvin Graylin, a lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He added that China’s approval now looks like a “calibrated de-escalation” that allows both governments to claim success domestically.
Concerns Over Privacy and User Impact
Despite the agreement, the deal has drawn criticism from some US lawmakers. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon said the arrangement would not adequately protect the privacy of American users.
“It’s unclear that this puts TikTok’s algorithm in safer hands,” Wyden said, adding that retraining the recommendation system on US user data may not be enough to prevent outside influence.
Under the terms of the deal, TikTok’s algorithm will be retrained using American data to ensure content feeds are insulated from foreign manipulation.
Some users and creators have also expressed cautious optimism. Tiffany Cianci, a small business owner with more than 300,000 followers on TikTok, said she hopes the new investors preserve the platform’s current user experience.
“I hope small business owners are protected,” she said, noting that TikTok offers more favourable profit-sharing terms than rival platforms.
TikTok says more than seven million small businesses in the US rely on the app to market their products and services.
For now, the agreement appears to have secured TikTok’s future in the United States—though debate over data privacy, foreign influence, and platform governance is likely to continue.