TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, has finalised a deal to create a majority American-owned joint venture that will secure U.S. user data, safeguarding the popular short-video app from a potential U.S. ban. The move comes after years of political and legal battles over national security concerns.
The TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will hold U.S. apps, user data, and algorithms under strict data privacy and cybersecurity measures.
American and global investors will collectively hold 80.1% of the venture, with ByteDance retaining a 19.9% stake. Cloud computing giant Oracle, private equity group Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX will each own 15%.
U.S. President Donald Trump praised the agreement in a social media post, calling the investors “a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World.”
He thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping “for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal. He could have gone the other way, but didn’t, and is appreciated for his decision.”
Trump added that TikTok had been “an important Voice” for his 2024 election campaign and credited the app with helping him win the youth vote.
The deal follows a 2024 U.S. law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets or face a ban, a measure upheld by the Supreme Court.
ByteDance said the venture will oversee the content recommendation algorithm, which will be secured in Oracle’s U.S. cloud, and will retrain, test, and update it using U.S. user data.
Revenue-generating operations such as advertising and e-commerce will remain with ByteDance, while the venture will receive a portion of revenue for its technology and data services.
TikTok USDS will be led by former TikTok USDS figures Adam Presser as CEO and Will Farrell as chief security officer, with TikTok CEO Shou Chew joining the board. Investors also include Michael Dell’s Dell Family Office, Vastmere Strategic Investments, Alpha Wave Partners, Revolution, Merritt Way, Via Nova, Virgo LI, and NJJ Capital.
A White House official told Reuters that the U.S. and Chinese governments had signed off on the deal, though the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.
Trump had previously said the deal met divestiture requirements and, through the venture, TikTok’s U.S. operations would continue while securing sensitive data.
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Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 4th of September, covering the latest developments.
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A Chinese national was pulled alive from a tunnel in Nepal on Saturday, authorities said, 10 days after a wall of ice, rock and mud tore through a Himalayan valley, killing more than 1,300 people and leaving more than 5,600 missing.
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The resolution, sponsored by African countries and led by Togo, passed by 164 votes to one, with six abstentions. The United States was the only country to vote against it.
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