An agreement has been reached to allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States, but it will bring significant changes.
Since TikTok went offline on January 18, 2025, concerns have been raised among Americans about the app’s future. According to DemandSage, TikTok has 136 million users in the US, with many individuals earning income through their short-form videos, sponsorships, and TikTok Shop marketplace.
The controversy began when President Donald Trump threatened to ban the social media platform, citing concerns about national security.
This reasoning is reminiscent of Trump’s previous interest in acquiring Greenland for similar security reasons.
In TikTok’s case, there were fears that the Chinese government could leverage the app to gather data on US users or sway public sentiment.
China has denied these allegations.
Trump’s administration eventually enacted a law requiring ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to divest the platform. While ByteDance was not enthusiastic about this prospect, all parties have now agreed on a new US joint venture.
Initial reports about such a deal surfaced last year, but on Thursday (January 22), TikTok made it official. The company announced the creation of a new US-based joint venture to oversee TikTok’s American operations, transferring control of user data, content moderation, and the recommendation algorithm to a predominantly American-owned company.
According to the new structure, which aligns with the executive order signed by Trump on September 25, 2025, ByteDance will retain a minority stake of only 19.9 percent in TikTok.
The daily management of the app in the US will now be handled by the new entity, supported by investors such as Larry Ellison’s Oracle, US investment firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based AI investment company MGX, who together hold the majority ownership.
“TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is dedicated to the safety and security of millions of Americans who create, discover, and connect with what they love on the apps we operate,” the statement said in part.
“Our foundation is a comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity program we operate under defined safeguards to protect national security and secure US user data, apps and the algorithm.
“We safeguard the US content ecosystem, holding decision-making authority for trust and safety policies and moderation.”
The statement concluded: “USDS Joint Venture helps ensure Americans can continue to express their creativity, discover new hobbies and interests, and build thriving communities and businesses on a global scale.”
The new safety measures will also apply to CapCut, Lemon8, and other TikTok-associated apps and websites in the US.
Part of the new arrangement is that the US-based board will now control the algorithm instead of TikTok’s global parent company.
This algorithm will be re-trained, tested, and updated using US user data within Oracle’s US-based cloud infrastructure.
In the weeks and months ahead, US users may experience changes in their daily browsing on TikTok.
This adjustment might alter the TikTok experience users have grown accustomed to, potentially leading some to leave the platform.
Social media users are already expressing concerns about how these algorithm changes could impact the content they encounter.
Only time will reveal the outcome!