By KAITLYN HUAMANI
Updated 12:11 AM PST, January 23, 2026
TikTok has secured a deal to establish a new American entity, effectively sidestepping the long-discussed threat of a ban in the U.S. that has been looming over the platform, now utilized by over 200 million Americans.
The video-sharing platform has signed agreements with major investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and the Emirati investment firm MGX to create the new TikTok U.S. joint venture. According to the company’s statement on Thursday, this new iteration will operate under “defined safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurances for U.S. users.” American users will continue to have access to the same app.
President Donald Trump expressed his approval of the deal in a post on Truth Social, specifically thanking Chinese leader Xi Jinping “for working with us and ultimately approving the deal.” He added that he hopes “to be remembered by those who use and love TikTok long into the future.”
Adam Presser, who previously served as TikTok’s head of operations and trust and safety, will take the helm of the new venture as CEO. He will collaborate with a seven-member board of directors, which has a majority of American members and includes TikTok’s current CEO, Shou Chew.
This agreement concludes years of uncertainty regarding the future of the popular video-sharing platform in the U.S. After significant bipartisan support in Congress led to a law signed by President Joe Biden threatening to ban TikTok unless it divested from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, the platform faced a potential shutdown as of January 2025. Before that deadline, it briefly went dark. However, on his first day in office, President Trump had signed an executive order allowing the app to continue operating while negotiations for a sale were pursued.
The Chinese government has maintained a consistent stance on TikTok. Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, commented on the recent deal and Trump’s post, echoing earlier sentiments from the Chinese embassy in Washington.
The joint venture emphasizes data protection, with U.S. user data being stored locally in a system managed by Oracle. It will also focus on TikTok’s algorithm, retraining and updating it based on U.S. user data to ensure it reflects local preferences and interests.
The algorithm has been a focal point in discussions about TikTok’s security. Previously, China mandated that the algorithm remains under its control. However, U.S. legislation requires any divestment of TikTok to sever ties with ByteDance, particularly concerning the algorithm. Under this agreement, ByteDance will license the algorithm to the U.S. entity for retraining purposes.
The new law prohibits any collaboration between ByteDance and a potential American ownership group regarding the operation of a content recommendation algorithm, leaving uncertainty about ByteDance’s continued involvement in this venture.
“The entity controlling TikTok in the U.S. holds significant influence over what content Americans are exposed to on the app,” stated Anupam Chander, a law and technology professor at Georgetown University.
Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX are the three managing investors, each maintaining a 15% ownership stake. Additional investors include the firm of billionaire Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies. ByteDance retains a 19.9% stake in the joint venture.
Associated Press contributors Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong and Didi Tang in Washington helped report this story.
KAITLYN HUAMANI
Huamani covers social media and internet culture for The Associated Press.
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