TikTok will remain operational in the United States following an agreement by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to create a majority American-owned joint venture, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.

The company announced the deal’s finalization in a news release on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, averting a potential U.S. ban on the popular social media platform. The deal allows more than 200 million American users and 7.5 million U.S. businesses “to continue to discover, create, and thrive as part of TikTok’s vibrant global community and experience,” per the release.

“The majority American-owned Joint Venture will operate under defined safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurances for U.S. users,” the news release states.

Under the agreement, three managing investors — including cloud computing company Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX — will each hold a 15% stake in the new joint venture, per the release. ByteDance will retain a 19.9% ownership stake, and additional U.S. investors will hold the remaining stake.

TikTok’s US Controversy And Legal Battles

As AFROTECH™ previously reported, controversy surrounding TikTok dates back to August 2020, when President Donald Trump unsuccessfully attempted to ban the app over national security concerns during his first term.

On April 24, 2024, former President Joe Biden signed a law giving ByteDance one year to sell TikTok to a U.S. entity or risk a ban, AFROTECH™ noted. The move followed the introduction of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to the House of Representatives, which aims to “protect Americans by preventing foreign adversaries, such as China, from targeting, surveilling, and manipulating the American people through online applications like TikTok,” according to a press release.

Since then, TikTok has faced repeated uncertainty in the U.S., including a temporary shutdown, congressional hearings, multiple extensions signed by Trump delaying a ban, and prolonged legal and political scrutiny, per AFROTECH™.

While TikTok initially said it did not plan to sell, CEO Shou Zi Chew confirmed in a December 2025 memo that the company would form a new joint venture to oversee US operations, as reported by NBC News.

Trump Celebrates TikTok Deal

President Donald Trump celebrated the finalization of the deal in a Truth Social post on Thursday, saying, “I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok! It will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World, and will be an important Voice.”

“I only hope that long into the future I will be remembered by those who use and love TikTok,” Trump continued in the post. “Thank you to Vice President JD Vance, and all of the others within my Administration, who helped bring this Deal to a very dramatic, final, and beautiful conclusion. I would also like to thank President Xi, of China, for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal. He could have gone the other way, but didn’t, and is appreciated for his decision,” he added.

The new joint venture will be led by Adam Presser as CEO and Will Farrell as chief security officer, notes the Thursday press release.