TikTok finalizes US entity deal to avert ban, shifting control to American-led venture
TikTok says it has finalized a deal to form a new American entity designed to keep the app operating in the U.S. under stricter safeguards for data, algorithms, and content moderation. The agreement brings in major investors and reduces ByteDance’s stake while preserving the same user-facing app.
NEW YORK — TikTok has finalized an agreement to create a new American entity aimed at keeping the platform online in the United States and sidestepping a ban that had loomed for years. The company said the restructuring establishes defined safeguards for U.S. users, including data protections, algorithm security, content moderation standards, and software assurances.
Under the deal, TikTok signed agreements with investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and the Emirati investment firm MGX to form a U.S. joint venture. While the user experience is expected to remain familiar — the same app and interface for American users — the corporate plumbing behind it changes substantially, with operations and oversight shifting toward an American-led structure.
TikTok said U.S. data will be stored locally and managed under Oracle’s control as part of the security package. The company also described measures designed to protect the recommendation system that powers the platform, with a framework that limits how the algorithm is handled and updated for U.S. users compared with TikTok’s operations elsewhere.
Leadership will also change. The company said Adam Presser, who previously led operations and trust-and-safety functions, will serve as chief executive of the new entity, with oversight provided by a seven-member board described as primarily American. TikTok CEO Shou Chew is expected to be involved at the board level.
The deal’s closing follows bipartisan U.S. legislation that required TikTok to sever key ties to ByteDance, particularly around control of the platform’s algorithm. TikTok said ByteDance will retain a minority stake, and the company framed the arrangement as a compliance step designed to resolve long-running national security concerns while keeping the service available to the more than 200 million Americans who use it.
Former President Donald Trump publicly praised the deal, casting it as a win that keeps the platform operating while addressing U.S. security demands. Still, some legal and regulatory questions remain: lawmakers and watchdogs have long argued that algorithm and intellectual-property control is the hard part, and critics will likely probe whether the new structure fully satisfies the intent of the law.
For creators and advertisers, the immediate effect is continuity — the app stays on, and commerce tied to TikTok remains intact. For policymakers, the agreement becomes a blueprint that could influence future fights over foreign ownership and control of widely used consumer platforms in the U.S. market.