TikTok has signed a joint‑venture agreement with a group of investors to keep its U.S. operations running and avoid a ban tied to its Chinese ownership. The deal follows a protracted dispute over the video‑sharing app in the world’s largest economy, where TikTok claims more than 170 million users.
In an internal memo, CEO Shou Chew told employees that TikTok and its Chinese parent ByteDance had reached an agreement with the new entity. Major investors—including Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi‑based MGX—are participating. Oracle’s executive chairman, Larry Ellison, is a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump.
The U.S. joint venture will oversee data protection, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurance for American users, and will have exclusive authority to certify that content, software and data are secure. Ownership will be split among the new investors, each holding 15 % (Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX). Affiliates of existing ByteDance investors will own just over 30 %, while ByteDance will retain nearly 20 %, the maximum permitted for a Chinese company under U.S. law.
The arrangement responds to legislation enacted under President Joe Biden that required ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a ban. U.S. policymakers, including Trump, have warned that China could use TikTok to harvest American data or influence users through its algorithm. The new structure confirms a September White House announcement that a venture had been agreed upon with China to satisfy the 2024 law’s requirements.
The deal enables TikTok to stay in the U.S. market, which is vital for its growth. Beijing’s foreign‑ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun did not directly comment on the agreement, reiterating that China’s position on the TikTok issue remains consistent and clear. Experts say the compromise spares TikTok from losing access to the lucrative U.S. market and allows ByteDance to focus on new initiatives, such as artificial‑intelligence projects and a potential IPO.
Although the U.S. market is paramount for TikTok, the agreement does not guarantee an easy path forward; U.S. regulators could still impose demanding conditions. The deal is slated to be finalized by January 22, after which TikTok must comply with the new regulations to maintain its U.S. operations.
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