TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has been at the center of controversy in the United States for four years. This is due to concerns that user data could be accessed by the Chinese government, leaving American users caught in the middle of this ongoing tension. Earlier this year, the app experienced a temporary outage in the U.S. that left millions of users in suspense before service was restored. TikTok returned to the App Store and Google Play Store in February.
After a period of competition among investors and a fourth extension of the TikTok ban deadline by former President Trump, the battle has concluded. As of last week, TikTok officially signed a deal to divest a portion of its U.S. entity to a group of American investors. This comes nearly three months after President Donald Trump signed an executive order approving the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to an American investor group. A week prior to that order, President Trump announced that China’s President Xi Jinping had given his approval for a deal that would allow a U.S. consortium to control the platform. ByteDance publicly stated it would ensure the platform remains available to American users.
According to reports, the investor group consists of Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and investment firm MGX. Collectively, they will hold 45% of the U.S. operation, with ByteDance retaining nearly a 20% stake. Estimates suggest TikTok U.S. is valued at approximately $14 billion. In September, a report indicated a framework deal was established between the U.S. and China, with a consortium including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz overseeing operations. These investors were expected to hold an 80% stake, with the remaining shares belonging to Chinese stakeholders.
The newly formed entity, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, will oversee the app’s operations, including data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance. Oracle will serve as the trusted security partner, responsible for auditing and ensuring compliance with National Security Terms. The company already provides cloud services for TikTok and manages user data in the U.S. A White House official stated Oracle would replicate and secure a new U.S. version of the algorithm, which the U.S.-based owners could lease from ByteDance for Oracle to retrain. ByteDance will not have access to information about TikTok’s U.S. users or any influence over the U.S. algorithm. The deal is scheduled to close on January 22, 2026.
Reports indicate that when the deal is finalized, the current TikTok app will be discontinued in the U.S. and users will need to transition to a new platform. However, the specifics of this platform, including its features and differences from the original app, remain largely unclear.
The timeline of TikTok’s relationship with the U.S. government began in August 2020, when Trump signed an executive order to ban transactions with ByteDance. A month later, his administration sought to force a sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a U.S.-based company, with contenders including Microsoft, Oracle, and Walmart. A U.S. judge temporarily blocked the order, allowing TikTok to continue operating.
Last year, after the Senate passed a bill targeting TikTok, President Joe Biden signed it. TikTok sued the U.S. government, challenging the constitutionality of the ban and arguing it violated the First Amendment rights of the app and its users. The company has consistently denied posing a security threat.
Recently, former President Trump has advocated for a 50-50 ownership arrangement between ByteDance and a U.S. company. There have been several other contenders for purchasing TikTok, including a consortium organized by Project Liberty founder Frank McCourt, which has support from figures like Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and investor Kevin O’Leary. Another group, the American Investor Consortium, included figures like Roblox co-founder David Baszucki and YouTuber MrBeast. Other reported bidders included Amazon, AppLovin, Microsoft, Perplexity AI, Rumble, Walmart, and former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick.