TikTok appears to have avoided a ban in the U.S.
As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the social media platform used by more than 170 million Americans and owned by a China-based company, ByteDance Ltd., was required to sell TikTok’s USA operations to U.S. investors, or it would be banned.
In 2024, lawmakers passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which was intended to bar “foreign adversaries, such as China, from targeting, surveilling, and manipulating the American people through online applications like TikTok,” a press release states.
While TikTok initially said it did not intend to sell, it later revealed a proposed transaction to form a joint venture that would allow ByteDance to maintain a minority stake.
In the latest update, shared by CNN, an agreement has been reached for the U.S. TikTok app to be controlled by Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, who will own a 50% stake in the company. Certain existing investors in ByteDance will maintain slightly more than a 30% stake, and ByteDance will keep 19.9%, reports the outlet.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew confirmed the news in a memo, which also stated TikTok will be managed by a “new seven-member majority-American board of directors,” per NBC News.
“We have signed agreements with investors regarding a new TikTok U.S. joint venture, enabling over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community,” Chew said in his memo, according to CNN.
The deal is projected to close by Jan. 22, 2026. It still requires regulatory approval from China and the U.S., notes CNN.
ByteDance will handle e-commerce, advertising, and marketing efforts on the new U.S. platform, per the outlet. The deal will permit TikTok’s algorithm to be retrained on U.S. user data.
“The U.S. joint venture will be responsible for U.S. data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance,” Chew wrote in his memo, according to NBC News. “It will also have the exclusive right and authority to provide assurances that content, software, and data for American users is secure.”
