TikTok US Deal Closes After Years Of Regulatory Uncertainty

A White Home official mentioned the US and China have finalized a deal to spin off TikTok’s US enterprise to a consortium led by Oracle and Silver Lake, Fox Business reported Thursday. CNN reported the three way partnership has been formally established and introduced its management workforce.

The closing comes forward of a January 23 deadline created by Trump’s September executive order, which set a 120-day enforcement pause on the divest-or-ban regulation.

What’s New

The three way partnership has been formally established and introduced its management workforce. TikTok said Adam Presser, beforehand the corporate’s head of operations and belief and security, can be CEO. Will Farrell, who led privateness and safety for the trouble, will function Chief Safety Officer.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew outlined the possession construction in a December internal memo to workers after signing binding agreements with buyers.

Beneath the brand new possession construction, ByteDance retains slightly below 20% of the US enterprise. Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based AI funding agency, will every maintain 15% stakes. Different buyers within the consortium embody Susquehanna, Dragoneer, and DFO, Michael Dell’s household workplace.

A brand new seven-member board of administrators with an American majority will govern the entity. The board will oversee knowledge safety, content material moderation, and algorithm safety for US operations.

Vice President JD Vance said in September the deal would worth TikTok’s US operations at roughly $14 billion, although the ultimate quantity ByteDance obtained stays unclear.

The algorithm query stays murky in public reporting. TikTok’s suggestion algorithm has been the central level of rivalry between the US and Chinese language governments all through the negotiations. The September executive order described US oversight of the expertise, together with necessities for algorithm retraining and monitoring, however particular implementation phrases haven’t been publicly disclosed.

Background

The deal closes a chapter that spans two presidential administrations and a number of reversal factors.

President Biden signed a law in 2024 requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US enterprise or face a ban. The Supreme Court upheld that law in 2025. TikTok briefly went darkish two days later earlier than President Trump, on his first day in workplace, signed an government order preserving the app operating whereas his administration negotiated a sale.

The present deal construction emerged from a framework introduced in September, when the White Home outlined phrases that may create a US entity with majority American possession whereas permitting ByteDance to keep up a minority stake.

Why This Issues

This could finish greater than 5 years of regulatory uncertainty for the 170 million Americans the White Home says use TikTok and the companies that depend upon the platform for advertising and commerce.

We first covered the TikTok ban timeline when the unique government order gave ByteDance 45 days to promote in August 2020. Then it was a potential Oracle deal that regarded promising earlier than falling aside. The sample repeated by way of a number of administrations, government orders, and courtroom instances.

For entrepreneurs who constructed methods round TikTok, the decision removes a persistent supply of planning uncertainty. TikTok Store, creator partnerships, and promoting campaigns can proceed with out the backdrop of a possible shutdown.

The possession construction additionally creates a brand new dynamic. Oracle, which already offers knowledge and computing companies for TikTok’s US operations by way of Challenge Texas, now holds an fairness stake and board-level oversight. That deeper integration might have an effect on how the platform handles knowledge practices and content material insurance policies going ahead.

Wanting Forward

TikTok’s US operations will operate as an impartial entity chargeable for knowledge safety, algorithm safety, and content material moderation.

TikTok has advised workers that customers and advertisers ought to see no speedy adjustments to the platform expertise. Chew’s December memo indicated People would proceed utilizing TikTok as earlier than and advertisers would keep entry to international audiences, based on a number of retailers that reviewed the doc.

The deal removes a sticking level in US-China relations at a time when tensions stay elevated on commerce and expertise points. Whether or not this mannequin turns into a template for different Chinese language-owned platforms working within the US stays to be seen.