TikTok Forms US-Led Joint Venture to Avoid Ban and Secure American Operations

TikTok has created a new majority American-owned joint venture to secure its US operations and avoid a ban over Chinese ownership concerns. The move follows years of political tension, data security fears, and repeated threats of restrictions on the app. Under the deal, US and global investors will control over 80% of the venture, while ByteDance keeps a minority stake, allowing TikTok to continue operating in the United States.

TikTok has announced the creation of a new joint venture that will be majority owned by American investors as part of efforts to secure its operations in the United States and prevent a possible ban linked to concerns over its Chinese ownership. The new company, known as TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, will oversee services for more than 200 million users and about 7.5 million businesses across the United States. According to ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company based in China, the venture will strengthen data privacy protections and cybersecurity measures in order to safeguard user data, applications, and the platform’s algorithm.
The agreement marks the latest development in a long and complicated political dispute that has placed TikTok at the center of rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. The platform’s problems began in August 2020, when then-President Donald Trump attempted to ban TikTok during his first term, citing national security concerns. US lawmakers had for years accused ByteDance of sharing sensitive data belonging to American users with the Chinese government. There were also claims that Chinese authorities could manipulate TikTok’s algorithm to promote propaganda and spread disinformation, even to users who had not actively searched for such content.
In 2024, the administration of President Joe Biden passed legislation that would require Apple and Google to block new TikTok downloads from their app stores if ByteDance failed to sell the company’s US operations by January 2025. However, when Trump returned to the presidency that same month, he issued executive orders delaying the enforcement of the ban and extending the deadline several times. Over the course of the year, he granted the company three additional extensions, allowing negotiations to continue.
Following the announcement of the new deal, President Trump publicly welcomed the agreement and took credit for helping to save the popular video-sharing app. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said he was pleased to have played a role in preserving TikTok and stated that the company would now be owned by what he described as “Great American Patriots and Investors.” He also thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for approving the arrangement, saying that cooperation from Beijing had been essential in finalizing the deal.
Under the terms of the agreement, American and international investors will control 80.1 percent of the new venture, while ByteDance will retain a 19.9 percent ownership stake. The three main managing investors are cloud technology company Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based investment group MGX, each holding a 15 percent share. Additional investors include the Dell Family Office, affiliates of Susquehanna International Group, and General Atlantic. The structure of the joint venture is intended to reassure US authorities that TikTok’s American operations will be protected from foreign influence while allowing the platform to continue operating in the country.