Here’s what you need to know about the US TikTok deal

TikTokowned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has been at the center of controversy in the US for years due to concerns about the Chinese government’s potential acquisitions.

Thursday, January 22, 2026, TikTok he announced that TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC was officially established following President Trump Executive Order which approved the sale of TikTok’s US operations to an American financial group. Now, ByteDance will own less than 20% of the new entity, with the rest falling into non-Chinese ownership.

Over the years, US users have often found themselves caught in the middle of this dilemma, facing uncertainty about how their access to the app will change – and why. creators who use TikTok to earn a livingthe content went up a lot. Last year, the app was temporarily disabled in the US which left millions of users in doubt before it was quickly restored. TikTok returned to the App Store and Google Play Store on February 2, 2025.

Several advertisers competed to buy the app, and after President Trump extended TikTok’s ban for a fourth time, the battle was over. In December 2025TikTok has officially signed an agreement to give a part of its organization in the US to a group of American investors.

Earlier in 2025, President Trump did he announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping approved the TikTok deal, which would allow a group of US investors to control the platform. ByteDance has publicly stated that it will ensure that the platform remains available to American users.

Who has TikTok in the US?

ByteDance will retain about 20% of the company, while non-Chinese investors will hold the remaining 80% of the company’s ownership. TikTok USDS Joint Venture.

The business management team is made up of Oracle, a Silver Lake investment company, and MGX. The three suppliers will each handle 15% of US work, or 45% combined.

Other investors, which include investors in ByteDance, also make up 35% of the shareholders. These include Dell Family Office (Michael Dell’s financial firm), Susquehanna affiliated with Vastmere, Alpha Wave Partners, and several others, listed in TikTok press release.

Reports compare that TikTok US is worth about $ 14 billion – a number that was also mentioned by Vice President JD Vance.

The newly formed “TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC” will manage the app’s operations, including data security, algorithm security, content control, and app verification.

Oracle will act as a trusted security partner, responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance with National Security Standards, according to the memo. The company already provides cloud services for TikTok and manages user data in the US In particular, Oracle already created TikTok back in 2020.

An official at the White House has previously said that Oracle will review and protect the new US version of the algorithm, and the owners of TikTok in the US can borrow the algorithm from ByteDance, which Oracle will resume.

ByteDance will not have access to information about US TikTok users or anything about the US algorithm.

How will TikTok change for US users?

Since the deal was just finalized, it’s unclear how the 200 million American TikTok users will be affected.

Right before reports He also said that US users may need to switch to the new platform, recent reports have denied this, and assured users that they will not need to download a new app.

It is also unclear how the user’s algorithmic feed will be affected at this time.

How did we get here?

To better understand the drama, we will first look at the period of TikTok’s relationship with the US government, which led to various conflicts and discussions.

The drama started right away August 2020when Trump signed an executive order banning the sale of ByteDance’s parent company.

A month later, the Trump administration sought to force the sale of TikTok’s US operations to a US company. Competitors included Microsoft, Oracle, and Walmart. However, the US judge temporarily prohibited Trump’s order, allowing TikTok to continue operating while the legal battle rages on.

Things started to improve a lot after the transition of the Biden administration. Prior to Senate filed a bill against TikTok, President Joe Biden he signed.

In response, TikTok sued the US governmentchallenging the ban and arguing that the program and its American users are violating their First Amendment rights. The company has always denied that it poses a security threat, saying that data stored in the US complies with all local laws.

Start in 2024: Trumpet he had a change of heart from his first time and wanted to achieve a 50-50 ownership arrangement between ByteDance and the US company.

There were several competitors, including People’s Demand for TikToka partnership organized by the founder of Project Liberty Frank McCourt. The group was backed by investment firm Guggenheim Securities and law firm Kirkland & Ellis. Supporters included the co-founder of Reddit Alexis OhanianTV personality and investor Kevin O’Learythe founder of the World Wide Web Tim Berners-Lee, and the great research scientist David Clark.

Another group, called the American Investor Consortium, was led by Employer.com the initiator Jesse Tinsley and include the co-founder of Roblox David BaszuckiAnchorage Digital co-founder Nathan McCauley, is a popular YouTuber MrBeast.

Others are running too Amazon, AppLovin app, Microsoft, AI disruption, RumbleWalmart, Zoop, former CEO of Activision Bobby Kotickand former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

This article has been updated after publication.