After years of uncertainty, TikTok is officially here to stay in the United States.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on September 25, 2025 approving a “qualified divestiture” that will separate the TikTok app from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and shift its U.S. operations over a new American-led ownership group, leaving ByteDance with less than a 20 percent stake. This was the president’s most detailed plan yet for TikTok, which faced the threat of a nationwide ban due to national security concerns.
What Is Included in the TikTok Deal?
According to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, the TikTok deal between the United States and China will see the app’s American assets transition from ByteDance to an American ownership group led by investors. TikTok’s algorithm will also be copied and retrained on U.S. user data to power an American version operated by TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.
Then, on December 18, 2025, ByteDance signed and agreed to this deal to transfer a majority control of a new U.S.-based TikTok entity to American investors led by Oracle. As part of the deal, the Oracle-led investor group will control 45 percent of the new entity, about a third of entity control will be held by existing ByteDance investors and around 20 percent of control will continue to be held by ByteDance.
On January 22, 2026, TikTok announced the establishment of TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, a majority American-owned joint venture created in compliance with President Trump’s September 2025 executive order. The joint venture states it will operate under defined safeguards and has a mandate to “secure U.S. user data, apps and the algorithm through comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity measures.” While it remains an independent U.S.-based entity, the TikTok joint venture will still allow U.S. users to have a global TikTok experience and ensure U.S. TikTok creators can still be discovered globally.
This ultimately prevented TikTok’s ban in the United States, and concluded years of U.S. government pressure to sever the app’s ties to China.
What We Know About the TikTok Deal
According to Trump’s latest executive order, TikTok’s U.S. operations will be spun into a new American-owned joint venture known as TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.
The entity will be majority-owned by U.S. investors and must follow strict data security rules. Specifically, the new U.S.-based TikTok entity will have 45 percent of itself controlled by an Oracle-led investor group (with each investor holding 15 percent stake), including:
- Oracle
- Silver Lake, a global private equity firm
- MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm backed by the United Arab Emirates
“It’s owned by Americans, very sophisticated Americans,” Trump said at the executive order’s signing. “This is going to be American operated all the way.”
A new board of directors was created to oversee the joint venture as well, comprising all American directors except for TikTok CEO Shou Chew. The TikTok USDS Joint Venture board of directors includes:
- Shou Chew - Director: CEO of TikTok
- Timothy Dattels - Director: senior advisor at TPG Global
- Mark Dooley - Director: managing director at Susquehanna International Group
- Egon Durban - Director: co-CEO of Silver Lake
- Raul Fernandez - Independent Director and Chair of the Security Committee: president and CEO of DXC Technology
- Kenneth Glueck - Director: executive vice president in the office of the CEO at Oracle
- David Scott - Director and Security Committee: chief strategy and safety officer at MGX
Of the seven board directors, ByteDance was reportedly allowed to choose only one. It’s also worth noting that while it was previously reported that the U.S. government would be paid a multibillion-dollar fee for the TikTok deal, and could possibly have had a hand in appointing a number of the joint venture’s board members, there is currently no direct confirmation of this fee taking place or whether the U.S. government had a decision in the joint venture’s remaining board directors.
TikTok’s infamously addictive algorithm will also be copied and retrained using only American user data. According to Trump, this process will be overseen by cloud company Oracle, which is already responsible for managing the app’s U.S. user data through Project Texas. The deal will further expand Oracle’s role, tasking the company with storing all TikTok data for U.S. users and completely cutting off ByteDance’s access to this information.
For American TikTok users, they will not have to download a new app to continue using TikTok as a result of the deal, according to The New York Times.
Who Will Control TikTok?
TikTok’s U.S. operations will fall under an American-led group led by Oracle, global private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment bank MGX — altogether holding a 45 percent stake. ByteDance will retain 19.9 percent, while the remaining 35 percent will go to U.S. ByteDance backers and investors (including Dell Family Office, Susquehanna affiliate Vastmere and Alpha Wave Partners, among others).
Although the U.S. government will not own a stake in TikTok or hold a board seat, it is expected to collect a multibillion-dollar fee for facilitating this deal — however, this has yet to be publicly confirmed.
What Does This Mean for U.S. Users?
For American users, the TikTok experience will remain largely unchanged on the surface. They won’t need to download a new app, they’ll still have access to all the same content and the rest of the world will still be able to view what they post. However, the app’s underlying algorithm has been copied and retrained using U.S. data only, so its recommendations may have a bias toward American trends and behaviors going forward.
Behind the scenes, all U.S. user data will now be stored and managed by Oracle, cutting off ByteDance entirely. And a new U.S.-majority board of directors will oversee TikTok’s operations. Although ByteDance will maintain a minority financial stake in the company, the platform will be overseen and moderated by primarily American companies. Therefore, users can expect stricter data privacy and cybersecurity safeguards, including limits on foreign access to their personal information. TikTok also updated its privacy policy, stating that it now collects users’ precise locations, among other things.
Put simply, TikTok’s feed, engagement and creator ecosystems will not have any noticeable differences for users in the United States. But the app will operate under stricter American governance and data rules, and collect more data on its American users.
What’s in it for China?
While the idea started to thwart national security concerns, an American-owned TikTok algorithm will remain a mere copy of the original — and it could be a watered-down version that ByteDance provides. This means the effectiveness behind TikTok’s algorithm remains a mystery, and ByteDance maintains its competitive edge. Meanwhile, American users may be stuck with lower-quality, less-tailored content.
ByteDance isn’t giving up the entirety of its stake in TikTok either, as its continued 19.9 percent stake in the TikTok joint venture helps it keep a foot firmly in the American social media landscape. As a result, any Chinese tech companies that want to establish a business presence in the United States without revealing any technological secrets now have a blueprint to guide future ventures.
The consequences of this deal could reverberate far beyond the tech sector and into the political realm as well. After all, the Chinese government may still try to leverage TikTok to win concessions from Trump on other issues, ranging from more favorable trade deals to the status of Taiwan. If Trump is desperate enough to keep TikTok’s American operations running, he might just give in to China’s demands.
Either way, the limited presence of ByteDance in the United States still presents an opportunity for a major Chinese tech firm to continue influencing the American media and business scene — something that’s bound to contribute to national security concerns among Trump administration officials and American politicians.
Why Was TikTok Banned in the First Place?
The push to ban TikTok in the United States stems from concerns over ByteDance sharing its user data with the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party.
The trouble started back to Trump’s first term. In 2019, then-Senator Marco Rubio submitted a request that the social media app be investigated, claiming that the Chinese government was using it to “advance their foreign policy and globally suppress freedom of speech.” The following year, Trump issued an executive order banning U.S. transactions with ByteDance. He then tried to force ByteDance to sell TikTok to American ownership, but federal rulings stalled those efforts.
Scrutiny only intensified after Trump left office. In 2023, tech investors and American politicians accused the app of harboring “anti-Israel bias,” calling once again for a nationwide ban. Then-President Joe Biden responded by signing the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Act, requiring TikTok to divest from ByteDance or face a U.S. ban. TikTok sued, claiming the law violated its First Amendment rights, but a federal court upheld the law and said TikTok would no longer be usable in the United States after January 19, 2025 unless it was sold.
Things have taken yet another turn in Trump’s second term, as the president has taken a liking to TikTok after it supposedly helped him “win the election in a landslide.” Americans lost access to the app for several hours in January, but Trump signed an executive order shortly after his 2025 inauguration extending the deadline for the sale. He’s pushed the deadline back four more times since then. Figures ranging from Elon Musk to MrBeast have expressed an interest in buying TikTok, but ByteDance has never confirmed that it is willing to sell. Plus, the Chinese government would need to approve of any deal, which is a massive complication given ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions.
Now, Trump claims this divestiture adequately satisfies the law, and shields American TikTok users from any “foreign adversary” control.
When Was the TikTok Deal Finalized?
The agreement was signed on December 18, 2025 and was finalized on January 22, 2026, which was marked by the establishment of the TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC entity to comply with President Trump’s executive order signed on September 25, 2025.
No price has been announced, but U.S. Vice President JD Vance reportedly valued TikTok at about $14 billion in September 2025.
While the TikTok deal officially closed and the app is to stay for millions of American users, this still leaves the deal’s future repercussions to remain unknown. Sparing TikTok from U.S. sanctions may yield short-term benefits, but the bigger question for the Trump administration is whether this deal could jeopardize American business interests and national security at a critical moment in the global tech race.
U.S.-TikTok Deal Timeline
From the initial regulatory challenges of 2020 to the establishment of a majority American-owned TikTok venture in 2026, here are some of the major events to know about the U.S. TikTok deal.
Trump Administration to Receive $10 Billion for Organizing TikTok Deal (March 2026)
Oracle, MGX and Silver Lake — the investors who now own and operate the U.S. version of TikTok — are set to pay the U.S. Treasury $10 billion. The federal government considers the payment a transaction fee for helping organize the deal to lease the recommendation algorithm from ByteDance and create a separate American version of the platform. According to individuals interviewed by The New York Times, the investors have already paid $2.5 billion of the fee and will continue to make payments.
Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi Sued Due to U.S. TikTok Deal Approval (March 2026)
The Public Integrity Project filed a lawsuit against President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, alleging that the administration illegally approved a TikTok restructuring deal that favored White House allies and bypassed the divestment law set by former President Biden on April 24, 2024. The suit, filed on behalf of retail investors in competing tech firms, claims the agreement failed to fully sever operational ties with Chinese parent company ByteDance and allowed the president to reward political donors and business associates. By challenging the deal’s legality, the group aims to force a renegotiation that prevents potential political censorship and ensures the administration complies with congressional mandates regarding national security.
TikTok USDS Joint Venture Is Established (January 2026)
TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC was established on January 22, 2026 in compliance with Trump’s September 2025 executive order to secure the platform for its American users. Led by CEO Adam Presser, the majority American-owned entity operates as an independent company governed by a seven-member board of directors and is tasked with protecting U.S. user data within Oracle’s cloud environment. TikTok CEO Shou Chew acts as one of the entity’s board of directors.
ByteDance Agrees to Have TikTok U.S. Operations Mainly Controlled by American-Led Group (December 2025)
On December 18, 2025, ByteDance signed a deal to divest its TikTok U.S. operations to a new group controlled by American-led investors. Under the agreement, ByteDance retained a 19.9 percent stake in TikTok operations, the investor group including Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX holds 45 percent stake (at 15 percent stake each) and the remaining 35 percent stake is held by U.S. ByteDance backers and investors (including Dell Family Office, Susquehanna affiliate Vastmere, Alpha Wave Partners and others).
Trump Issues Executive Order to Approve Plan for New U.S.-Based TikTok Venture (September 2025)
On September 25, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order that determined a proposed divestiture framework for TikTok’s U.S. operations constituted a “qualified divestiture” under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The order approved a plan for a newly established, U.S.-based joint venture to operate TikTok, ensuring that ByteDance would retain less than a 20 percent stake and that U.S. user data would be stored in an American-run cloud environment. To facilitate this transition, the Attorney General was directed not to enforce the act for an additional 120 days (until January 23, 2026), allowing for the final implementation of the new ownership and security structures.
Trump Halts Enforcement of “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications” Act (January 2025)
On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order instructing the Attorney General to halt enforcement of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act for a period of 75 days (until April 5, 2025). The order prohibited the U.S. Department of Justice from imposing penalties on any entities for noncompliance with the act, and was intended to give the administration time to assess national security concerns and negotiate a resolution that avoids an abrupt shutdown of TikTok in the United States.
Trump went on to further delay the enforcement three more times until June 19, 2025, then September 17, 2025 and finally December 16, 2025.
Biden Signs “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications” Act into Law (April 2024)
On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act into law, which provided the legal framework for the potential nationwide ban of TikTok by prohibiting app stores and hosting services from supporting applications controlled by “foreign adversaries.” Specifically targeting ByteDance and TikTok, the law required a complete divestiture to a U.S.-approved buyer within 180 days of enactment (by January 19, 2025) to ensure the platform is no longer under the control of a foreign adversary.
This act caused the shutdown of TikTok in the United States from January 18, 2025 to January 19, 2025, and the removal of TikTok from the U.S. App Store and Google Play store from January 19, 2025 to February 13, 2025.
Biden Administration Demands TikTok to Be Sold or Be Banned (March 2023)
In March 2023, the Biden administration demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owners divest their stakes in the app or face a potential U.S. ban. This move, communicated by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), marked a significant escalation from previous efforts to resolve security concerns through data protection measures alone (such as TikTok’s previous “Project Texas” plan).
Biden Issues Executive Order 14034 to Revoke Trump’s TikTok Ban Executive Orders (June 2021)
President Biden issued Executive Order 14034 on June 9, 2021, which revoked the prior Trump-era executive orders that sought to ban TikTok and other Chinese-owned applications (Executive Order 13942, Executive Order 13943 and Executive Order 13971). Instead of a direct app ban, the order directed the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an evidence-based analysis to evaluate the risks posed by software applications connected to foreign adversaries. This shift moved the U.S. federal government toward a rigorous assessment of how such apps — like TikTok — handle Americans’ sensitive data and whether they pose unacceptable risks to national security.
U.S. District Judge Blocks Trump’s November 2020 TikTok Ban (October 2020)
On October 30, 2020, U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone blocked the Trump administration’s plan to restrict TikTok in the United States starting November 12, 2020. Beetlestone ruled in favor of three TikTok content creators, concluding that the government’s actions would essentially shut down the app in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Blocks Trump’s September 2020 TikTok Ban (September 2020)
On September 27, 2020, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols issued a preliminary injunction that blocked Executive Order 13942, which would have banned new TikTok downloads from U.S. app stores starting at 11:59pm on September 27, 2020. Although Nichols halted the immediate TikTok ban, he declined at that time to block TikTok restrictions that had been scheduled for November 12, 2020.
Oracles Agrees With ByteDance to Be Trusted Technology Provider for U.S. TikTok (September 2020)
Oracle reached an agreement with ByteDance on September 14, 2020 to serve as TikTok’s “trusted technology provider” in the United States, a deal aimed at resolving the Trump administration’s national security concerns. This arrangement was characterized as a partnership rather than a full sale of the app’s assets, and followed ByteDance’s rejection of a rival acquisition bid from Microsoft.
As of February 2021, the plan for this deal was put on hold indefinitely as President Biden reviewed Trump’s efforts to address potential security concerns from Chinese companies.
TikTok Sues Trump Administration Over Executive Order 13942 (August 2020)
On August 24, 2020, TikTok filed a federal lawsuit challenging Executive Order 13942, arguing that the attempt to ban the platform lacked due process and failed to provide evidence of a national security threat. The company alleged that the Trump administration ignored its extensive efforts to safeguard U.S. user data and misused the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to pursue a “heavily politicized” agenda. Ultimately, TikTok stated it took this legal action to protect the rights of its 1,500 U.S. employees and the community of 100 million American users who rely on the platform.
Trump Issues Executive Order for ByteDance to Divest From U.S. TikTok Operations (August 2020)
On August 14, 2020, President Trump issued an executive order regarding ByteDance’s acquisition of Musical.ly, citing evidence that the transaction threatened to impair U.S. national security. The order prohibited the acquisition and required ByteDance to divest all interests in tangible or intangible assets used to support TikTok’s operations in the United States within 90 days (by November 12, 2020). Additionally, ByteDance was required to destroy all data obtained or derived from TikTok and Musical.ly users in the United States and certify this destruction to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Trump Issues Executive Order 13942 to Ban U.S. Transactions With ByteDance (August 2020)
President Trump issued Executive Order 13942 on August 6, 2020, which identified TikTok as a threat to national security due to its ability to capture vast amounts of user data that could potentially be accessed by the Chinese Communist Party. To address this risk, the order prohibited any transactions between U.S. persons and the TikTok parent company ByteDance, effective 45 days after its issuance (September 20, 2020). The ban was later postponed to not take effect until September 27, 2020.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the TikTok deal say?
If the deal’s current framework stands, here’s what would change for TikTok:
- TikTok’s U.S. assets will come under the control of an American ownership group, reducing ByteDance’s stake to less than 20 percent.
- A new board of directors will be formed, with six of seven seats reserved for Americans. ByteDance can appoint a member for the remaining seat.
- TikTok’s algorithm will be copied and retrained solely on U.S. user data to power a new American version.
- ByteDance will lose access to all TikTok data collected from users in the U.S., which will be stored and controlled by an American cloud company (probably Oracle).
How does China benefit from a TikTok deal?
ByteDance doesn’t have to hand over its original TikTok algorithm, enabling the company to keep its competitive edge. In addition, the tech firm maintains some stake in TikTok, potentially serving as a blueprint for other Chinese tech companies that want to enter the U.S. market someday. And the Chinese government may even use a possible TikTok deal as leverage to win concessions from President Trump on trade deals and other issues.
When did the TikTok deal take effect?
The TikTok deal was finalized on January 22, 2026 with the establishment of TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.
