TikTok Strikes Landmark Deal To Remain In US

After years of swirling controversy, legal battles, and political maneuvering, TikTok’s fate in the United States appears to have reached a dramatic turning point. On January 23, 2026, ByteDance, the Chinese owner of the wildly popular short-video app, announced it had finalized an agreement to create a new, majority-American joint venture—TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC—in a bid to avoid a US ban that once seemed all but inevitable. The move, reported by Reuters and confirmed in TikTok’s own statement, marks the end of a saga that has gripped tech watchers, policymakers, and millions of users for more than half a decade.

The new joint venture, which will be 80.1% owned by a collection of American and international investors, leaves ByteDance with a 19.9% stake. Among the heavyweight backers are Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, each holding a 15% share, according to Reuters. The arrangement is designed to address a core concern: securing the data and privacy of over 200 million American TikTok users, while also safeguarding the powerful algorithm that curates content for the platform—a feature many see as TikTok’s secret sauce.

The story of TikTok in America has always been about more than just viral dances and memes. Ever since August 2020, when then-President Donald Trump first attempted to ban the app on national security grounds, TikTok has been caught in the crosshairs of a broader geopolitical contest between the US and China. The US government, under both Democratic and Republican leadership, has worried that Chinese authorities could access American users’ personal data or use TikTok’s algorithm to influence public opinion. As reported by Reuters and other outlets, these concerns culminated in a 2024 law signed by President Joe Biden, which required ByteDance to divest its US assets by January 2026 or face a ban—a measure later upheld by the Supreme Court.

The new joint venture is intended to put those fears to rest. In its announcement, TikTok pledged that the entity “will operate under safeguards set to ensure national security through data privacy, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurances for US users.” According to TikTok, the joint venture will secure American user data, applications, and the all-important recommendation algorithm through robust privacy and cybersecurity measures. The algorithm itself will be stored and managed within Oracle’s US-based cloud infrastructure, a step intended to ensure that neither ByteDance nor Chinese authorities can access or manipulate it.

“TikTok will now belong to a group of great patriots and American investors, the greatest in the world,” former President Trump declared in a message on social media, as reported by Reuters. He went on to thank Chinese President Xi Jinping “for working with us and, in the end, approving the deal. It could have gone the other way, but he didn’t, and his decision is appreciated.” Trump, who boasts over 16 million followers on his personal TikTok account and has credited the app with helping his reelection, has long been a vocal proponent of finding a solution that keeps TikTok in American hands.

The agreement is notable not just for its structure but for the high-profile names attached to it. In addition to Oracle’s Larry Ellison—a longtime Trump ally—other investors include Dell Family Office, Vastmere Strategic Investments, Alpha Wave Partners, Revolution, Merritt Way, Via Nova, Virgo LI, and NJJ Capital. Adam Presser and Will Farrell, both former executives of TikTok USDS, have been appointed CEO and head of security, respectively, while TikTok’s global CEO Shou Chew will sit on the joint venture’s board, overseeing global strategy.

The White House, for its part, has signaled its approval, with a senior official confirming to Reuters that both the US and Chinese governments have signed off on the deal. The Chinese embassy in Washington, however, has so far declined to comment. According to sources cited by Reuters, the agreement was hammered out in the wake of a September 2025 executive order from then-President Trump, which outlined the framework for the joint venture and specified that the American version of TikTok would be managed by wealthy supporters—including Ellison—trusted to keep the platform’s operations squarely within US control.

But while TikTok USDS will handle American operations and data, ByteDance is not walking away from the US market entirely. The Chinese parent company will retain ownership of certain commercial operations—such as e-commerce and advertising—through a separate division. As reported by Reuters, the new American entity will receive a share of revenue for its technology and data services, but ByteDance will continue to benefit financially from TikTok’s US business. This arrangement, some analysts say, provides a delicate balance between national security concerns and the commercial realities of running a global tech platform.

The creation of TikTok USDS brings to a close a long and often contentious legal battle. The law requiring ByteDance to divest its US operations was passed under President Biden, reflecting bipartisan anxiety about the risks posed by foreign control of social media platforms. The legislation aimed to prevent Chinese authorities from gaining access to sensitive user data or leveraging TikTok’s algorithm to sway American public opinion. As TikTok stated in its announcement, the new joint venture “will operate according to guarantees set to ensure national security through data privacy, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurances for US users.”

For TikTok’s vast American user base, the impact of the deal is likely to be invisible—at least at first. The app will continue to operate as usual, with its signature blend of short videos, viral trends, and algorithm-driven recommendations. But behind the scenes, the platform’s data and algorithms will now be housed in American-controlled infrastructure, with oversight from a board dominated by US and international investors.

The saga of TikTok in America has been a microcosm of broader debates over technology, privacy, and national security. It has exposed fault lines between the US and China, between free-market capitalism and state control, and between the global ambitions of tech giants and the sovereign interests of nation-states. With the creation of TikTok USDS, both sides appear to have found a compromise—one that allows Americans to keep scrolling, sharing, and creating, while also addressing deep-seated fears about foreign influence and data security.

As the dust settles, the world will be watching closely to see whether this new model can hold. For now, TikTok’s American users can breathe a sigh of relief—their favorite app isn’t going anywhere.