TikTok’s future in the United States is finally secured after a deal to sell its U.S. business to a consortium of American investors is set to close on Jan. 22.
New ownership structure
The agreement, seen by the Associated Press and NBC News, will see Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX each acquire a 15% stake in the new joint venture, which will own half of TikTok’s U.S. operations. Affiliates of existing ByteDance investors will hold 30.1%, and ByteDance will retain 19.9%.
Governance and data safeguards
The U.S. venture will be governed by a seven‑member majority‑American board. The memo said the venture will be subject to terms that “protect Americans’ data and U.S. national security.” U.S. user data will be stored locally in a system run by Oracle, and the algorithm will be retrained on U.S. data to “ensure the content feed is free from outside manipulation.” The new entity will also oversee content moderation and policies within the country.
End of uncertainty
The deal ends years of uncertainty that began when Congress passed a law that would ban TikTok in the United States if a new owner was not found by the January 2025 deadline. The platform was set to go dark for a few hours, but President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to keep it running while his administration sought a sale. Three additional orders followed—one in April, another in June, and a final one in September—each extending the deadline and allowing TikTok to continue operating under U.S.‑centric safeguards.
Key Takeaways
- The sale will close on Jan. 22, transferring half of TikTok’s U.S. business to Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX.
- A seven‑member majority‑American board will oversee the new joint venture.
- U.S. user data will be stored locally and the algorithm will be retrained to protect data and national security.
With the sale closing on Jan. 22, TikTok’s U.S. presence will continue under new American ownership, a new board of directors, and robust data protection measures, ensuring the platform’s continued operation in the United States.
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