TikTok Saved By American Joint Venture, Avoids Ban in the U.S.

After years of questions and uncertainty, TikTok has been saved. According to the Associated Press, the popular video-sharing platform has finalized a deal that will keep it available in the United States. It is still unclear whether users’ experience will change in any meaningful way or whether security concerns about the app have been addressed by the current deal.

“The majority American-owned Joint Venture will operate under defined safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurances for U.S. users,” the group said in a statement. CNN reports that the joint venture will be led by CEO Adam Presser, who previously led TikTok’s efforts to secure Americans’ user data in the United States, and Chief Security Officer Will Farrell, who led privacy and security.

The deal means that a new TikTok U.S. joint venture has been created following the social video platform company signing agreements with major investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX. TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, announced on Thursday (Jan. 22) that it finalized the deal to establish the majority American-owned joint venture. The deal comes after years of battles, which began in August 2020 when President Donald Trump attempted a ban of the app over national security concerns.

A law passed in April 2024 said that ByteDance would face a ban in the U.S. un-sell it sold its U.S. assets by the following January. It was upheld by the Supreme Court but Trump chose not to enforce that law. 

Last fall, Trump gave the parties a Jan. 23 deadline to finalize the transaction.

“I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok!” he wrote on Truth Social after news broke of the agreement. “It will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World, and will be an important Voice. Along with other factors, it was responsible for my doing so well with the Youth Vote in the 2024 Presidential Election. I only hope that long into the future I will be remembered by those who use and love TikTok. Thank you to Vice President JD Vance, and all of the others within my Administration, who helped bring this Deal to a very dramatic, final, and beautiful conclusion. I would also like to thank President Xi, of China, 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.”

According to Reuters, the agreement provides for American and global investors to hold 80.1% of the venture while ByteDance will own 19.9%. TikTok USDS JV's three managing investors - cloud computing giant Oracle, private equity group Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX–will each hold 15%.