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TikTok has agreed to place its U.S. operations under a new joint venture controlled by American and global investors led by Oracle.
This is designed to avert a nationwide ban and settle long-running security challenges with Washington.
Under the binding agreement, ByteDance will cut its stake to 19.9%, while investors led by Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi’s MGX will collectively take 80.1% ownership of a newly formed company, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.
The structure is intended to satisfy U.S. laws that demand the separation of TikTok’s American business from Chinese control.
The arrangement follows legislation passed by Congress in April 2024 that required ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a ban. The Supreme Court upheld the law in January 2025, setting a January deadline. This joint venture, due to close on 22 January, is meant to meet that requirement.
Ownership alone, however, has not ended the issue. The new entity will be run by a seven-member board, with Americans holding most seats. ByteDance will appoint one director. Oracle has been named the “trusted security partner” and will be responsible for auditing compliance and protecting US user data, which will be stored on Oracle’s cloud infrastructure inside the United States.
TikTok’s chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, told staff that the venture would “operate as an independent entity with authority over U.S. data protection, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurance,” according to an internal memo.
He also said TikTok’s global US entities would separately handle “global product interoperability and certain commercial activities, including e-commerce, advertising, and marketing”.
Even so, there’s still uncertainty over the heart of the platform, its recommendation algorithm. Former U.S. officials and analysts say it is still not clear if the algorithm has been transferred, licensed, or remains under ByteDance’s control, with Oracle potentially limited to oversight rather than ownership.
Reports from Chinese media have suggested ByteDance may continue to play an operational role or receive revenue from the US business, leading to questions about Beijing’s influence despite the new structure.
President Donald Trump has openly credited TikTok with helping his re-election and maintains a large following on the app. His administration has also launched an official White House TikTok account. At the same time, Trump’s close ties to Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison have drawn criticism from Democrats.
Senator Elizabeth Warren has been among the most vocal opponents, saying: “Trump wants to hand over even more control of what you watch to his billionaire buddies. Americans deserve to know if the president struck another backdoor deal for this billionaire takeover of TikTok.”
Trump previously said high-profile investors, including Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch, could be involved, though there are no reports about who ultimately joined the final deal.
This agreement ends the immediate threat of a ban, but not the argument around influence and control.
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