TikTok’s parent ByteDance has struck a deal with a consortium of non-Chinese investors to establish a majority American-owned joint venture that will run the app’s U.S. operations, aiming to neutralize national security objections and keep the platform online for American users. The move caps years of pressure from Washington and sets up a new governance and oversight framework intended to wall off U.S. data and safeguard TikTok’s recommendation algorithm.
The new entity, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, will be led by Adam Presser, formerly TikTok’s head of operations and trust and safety, with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew joining the board as a director. A seven-member board will oversee the venture, a structure designed to create operational independence from ByteDance while preserving the product experience for U.S. users and advertisers.
What the new entity actually does for U.S. TikTok operations
According to the company, the venture will operate under defined safeguards spanning data protection, algorithm integrity, content moderation, and software assurance. In practice, that means stricter data localization and access controls, enhanced code and model review processes, and third-party verification that the U.S. tech stack behaves as intended. These controls are designed to address longstanding concerns from U.S. national security officials, including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, about potential foreign influence or data exposure.
Oracle’s role is central. Beyond investing, Oracle has already been TikTok’s U.S. cloud partner through the company’s earlier “Project Texas” effort to store and process American user data domestically. The new structure formalizes that technical ring-fence with board-level oversight, more rigorous auditing, and clearer legal accountability for how U.S. data and recommendation systems are handled.
Ownership and governance of the new U.S. joint venture
The venture’s managing investors—Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX—will each hold a 15% stake, with additional participation from Michael Dell’s family investment office and other smaller investors. TikTok says the entity will be majority American-owned. The seven-person board includes Chew alongside Timothy Dattels of TPG Global, Mark Dooley of Susquehanna International Group, Egon Durban of Silver Lake, Raul Fernandez of DXC Technology, Kenneth Glueck of Oracle, and David Scott of MGX.
Presser’s appointment places a seasoned operations and trust and safety executive at the helm, signaling that policy enforcement, compliance, and platform integrity are priorities alongside growth. The governance model aims to put meaningful distance between core U.S. decision-making and ByteDance’s global operations without disrupting the app experience that has driven TikTok’s meteoric rise.
Why the deal matters for users, creators, and advertisers
TikTok has become a cultural and commercial juggernaut in the U.S., with the company citing roughly 170 million American users. Pew Research Center has found that about 33% of U.S. adults use TikTok and roughly 67% of teens are on the platform—figures that underscore how any interruption could reverberate through creator communities, brands, and the broader media ecosystem.
For advertisers and small businesses, the joint venture promises continuity and greater clarity. Data separation and algorithm oversight are likely to be welcomed by risk-averse marketers seeking stable policy footing. Expect more transparency reports, independent audits, and standardized disclosures around how content is recommended and how U.S. data is secured.
The political and legal backdrop shaping the agreement
The agreement follows a years-long standoff that began when the U.S. government first moved to restrict TikTok over national security concerns. Some state-level efforts to ban the app stalled in court, while lawmakers floated various divest-or-ban bills. The joint venture route offers a negotiated alternative to a forced sale, aligning with regulators’ core demands for control, visibility, and enforceable safeguards around data and algorithms.
Reaction is already coming in from political figures. Former President Donald Trump publicly praised the arrangement, framing it as a win for American investors. Even so, expect continued oversight from congressional committees and national security agencies as the venture implements its controls and submits to audits. The durability of the model will hinge on verifiable compliance, not just corporate structure.
What to watch next as the joint venture stands up in the U.S.
Key milestones include the migration and certification of U.S. data systems, the operational handoff to the joint venture, and the publication of technical guardrails around source code access and model changes. Advertisers will look for assurances that measurement, brand safety tools, and API access remain intact. Regulators will scrutinize who can touch what—data, code, and moderation policies—and how those decisions are recorded and audited.
If the model holds, it could become a template for other jurisdictions seeking to balance open markets with sovereignty over platforms that handle sensitive data. For now, the headline is simple: TikTok will stay online in the U.S., under a new corporate perimeter designed to meet Washington’s security bar while preserving the product that made it a fixture of American culture.
