TikTok avoids US ban after sealing last-minute deal

TikTok

• ByteDance sells majority stake in TikTok US to non-Chinese investors
• Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX each hold about 15 percent of TikTok US
• US user data will be stored on Oracle's secure cloud servers in the US

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TikTok has finally put an end to years of uncertainty in the US. The short-video app has wrapped up a long-awaited deal for its US business, with parent company ByteDance selling a majority stake to a group of non-Chinese investors just before a crucial government deadline.

Under the agreement, ByteDance will retain only a 20 percent stake in the new US entity, while existing TikTok investors will control the remaining 80 percent. The move was necessary to keep TikTok running in the US, where it faced the threat of a nationwide ban unless it was divested from its Chinese parent under rules set during the Trump Administration.

Big names are backing the new setup. Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, an Emirati state-owned investment firm, will each hold around 15 percent of the US business. Other investors include an investment firm linked to Dell’s CEO. Together, they are expected to steer TikTok’s US operations going forward.

The basic outlines of the deal had leaked last month after TikTok CEO Shou Chew reportedly told employees that ByteDance and TikTok had agreed on a group of investors. Even so, progress was slow, and the app continued to sit on the edge of a ban. With the deal now closed, TikTok’s future in the US finally looks secure.

TikTok says the new joint venture is designed to directly address concerns around data security and content control. American users’ data will be stored on Oracle’s secure cloud servers located in the US. The company will also retrain TikTok’s recommendation algorithm using US user data, while content moderation for the country will be handled locally.

At the same time, TikTok insists the app won’t become isolated. US users will still see international content, and creators will continue to reach global audiences. The same safeguards will also apply to other ByteDance-owned apps in the US, including CapCut and Lemon8.

The US entity will be overseen by a seven-member board, most of whom are Americans. The board includes Chew, Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban, Oracle executive Kenneth Glueck, and MGX’s Chief Strategy and Safety Officer David Scott.

As first reported by Engadget, the deal closes a long and messy chapter for TikTok in the US. After years of political pressure and near-misses, the app now has a clearer path to stay — and grow — in one of its most important markets.