📱 TikTok agrees to cede control of its U.S. business to American investors
TikTok has reached a deal to transfer operational control of its U.S. business to a new entity backed by an American-led investor group, a move designed to resolve long-running U.S. national security concerns and avert a potential nationwide ban.
🖱 The agreement would place TikTok’s U.S. operations under a new joint venture majority-owned by U.S. and allied investors, while ByteDance retains only a minority, non-controlling stake.
🖱 Oracle is expected to play a central role as the trusted technology and security partner, overseeing U.S. user data storage, infrastructure, and safeguards around sensitive systems.
🖱 Control over content moderation, data governance, and day-to-day U.S. operations would shift to the new entity, though questions remain about how much influence ByteDance will retain over TikTok’s core recommendation algorithm.
🖱 The deal is structured to comply with U.S. legislation requiring divestment from “foreign adversary–controlled” apps, effectively sidestepping a forced shutdown of TikTok in the U.S.
The agreement could mark one of the most significant restructurings of a global consumer tech platform under geopolitical pressure, setting a precedent for how cross-border tech companies navigate national security regulation.