TikTok has reached a historic agreement which transfers all operational power of its US business to another party. This agreement concludes the regulatory uncertainties which started when Donald Trump proposed a ban during his first term as US President.
The deal which took place on January 22 2026 required extended discussions between multiple US government administrations and Congress and TikTok’s parent company ByteDance from China. TikTok has approximately 200 million active users in the United States.
TikTok and ByteDance established a new joint venture which will bring complete control of TikTok’s US operations to a different company that will be established through this partnership. The new entity of TikTok will receive funding from American and allied investors.
TikTok, ByteDance Form US Joint Venture
Under the agreement, a new entity—TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC—has been formed with investors including Oracle Corp., private equity firm Silver Lake Management, and Abu Dhabi-based investment company MGX.
The ownership structure of the new company includes:
- 50% held by new US-aligned investors
- 30.1% held by existing ByteDance investors
- 19.9% retained by ByteDance
ByteDance will lease a copy of its recommendation algorithm to the US entity, allowing the platform to retrain a new algorithm using US user data. The joint venture will establish better data protection systems which will protect American user data and their applications and algorithms according to Reuters.
Shou Chew, the CEO of TikTok, will join the US board of TikTok while maintaining his role as the global leader of the company. Adam Presser, his deputy, will become the new CEO for TikTok’s operations in the United States. ByteDance is expected to retain control over advertising operations and TikTok Shop, the platform’s fast-growing e-commerce arm.
Trump Welcomes TikTok Agreement
US President Donald Trump welcomed the announcement on January 23, thankful to Chinese President Xi Jinping for his approval of the agreement. On Truth Social Trump declared that the contract permitted TikTok to continue operating in the United States after American investors acquired the business which he described as “Great American Patriots and Investors.”
It was at that time that he remarked: “TikTok was audited by a Senate committee presided over by a very powerful woman-good woman by the way, but didn’t give the blessing. It wouldn’t get their blessing for various reasons.”
Timeline: Key Moments in the TikTok US Saga
2020:
Former President Donald Trump sought to ban TikTok during his presidency because he believed that the Chinese government would access user data through its U.S. server operations.
- August 2020:Donald Trump has just made an executive order to ban TikTok and ByteDance transactions.
- September 2020: It ordered ByteDance to divest operations of TikTok in the US within 90 days; however, while this became challenging due to legal turns, it was ultimately stalled.
2024:
US Congress passed legislation mandating that TikTok either divest its US business or face a nationwide ban. The law was later signed by then-President Joe Biden as the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
2025:
After returning to office, President Trump delayed enforcement of the law multiple times while negotiating a transfer of TikTok’s US operations to American ownership. A final deadline of January 23, 2026, was approved last fall.
2026:
The joint venture between TikTok and ByteDance ended on January 22 when TikTok transferred its important US business operations to owners from outside China while maintaining its ability to operate in the United States.
The agreement marks the culmination of nearly six years of political, regulatory and corporate negotiations surrounding one of the world’s most influential social media platforms.
