TikTok’s US spinoff goes live under new American ownership
TikTok’s U.S. spinoff is now official, and the new joint venture has begun operations. Control of the app’s American business has transferred from ByteDance to a U.S.-led ownership group just ahead of a Trump administration deadline.
The new entity, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, announced Thursday that it has been formally established. It also named its leadership team.
The move completes a yearlong effort to sever TikTok’s U.S. operations from its Chinese parent company. It was a move to comply with a federal divestiture mandate.
“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 company said in a statement.
The venture is led by CEO Adam Presser, who previously ran TikTok’s U.S. data security effort, and Chief Security Officer Will Farrell, who oversaw privacy and security for that initiative. It is overseen by a board that includes TikTok US CEO Shou Chew, Oracle executive Kenneth Glueck, and representatives from Silver Lake, Susquehanna International Group, and Emirati investment firm MGX.
Control transfers ahead of ban deadline
The transaction closed one day before a deadline President Donald Trump set to force ByteDance to spin off TikTok’s U.S. business or face enforcement of a federal ban.
Congress passed the sale-or-ban law in 2024, requiring ByteDance to divest its U.S. assets over national security concerns. The Supreme Court upheld the statute, which made it unlawful for app stores to distribute or update TikTok in the U.S. Trump repeatedly delayed enforcement while his administration worked to broker a transfer of control.
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More than 135 million Americans use TikTok, making the U.S. the app’s largest market.
Under the finalized structure, ByteDance retains a 19.9% stake in the U.S. business. A consortium led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX owns 50% of the joint venture. Affiliates of existing ByteDance investors hold just over 30%, according to a memo TikTok CEO Shou Chew sent to employees last month.
Trump designated the arrangement a “qualified divestiture” under the statute last fall and set a Jan. 23 deadline for closing the transaction.
New company takes over data and moderation
The joint venture now controls TikTok’s U.S. user data and most U.S. operations. Oracle will oversee storage of Americans’ data. The U.S. entity will handle content moderation for American users and will manage algorithm security under what the company described as defined safeguards.
The new company plans to retrain TikTok’s recommendation algorithm using U.S. user data. For now, it will continue to license the algorithm from ByteDance before reviewing and modifying it under the new ownership structure.
The global TikTok organization, which remains controlled by ByteDance, will continue to manage e-commerce, advertising, and marketing for the U.S. platform, according to Chew’s memo.
TikTok said American users are unlikely to see visible changes to the app. The company acknowledged that the algorithm governing video recommendations could shift as the U.S. entity assumes operational control.
Questions persist on algorithm control
The 2024 statute barred “any cooperation with respect to the operation of a content recommendation algorithm” between ByteDance and a new American ownership group.
The joint venture said it will continue licensing the algorithm from ByteDance before retraining and reviewing it under U.S. control.
“Interoperability enables the Joint Venture to provide U.S. users with a global TikTok experience,” the company said.
It remains unclear how much ByteDance received for the U.S. business. Vice President JD Vance said last year the deal would value the unit at roughly $14 billion.
Leadership structure comes into focus
The joint venture will be governed by a seven-member board, with a majority of American members. Chew will serve as a director alongside representatives of Oracle, Silver Lake, MGX, and Susquehanna.
The company said the structure is designed to meet national security requirements by separating control of U.S. data, moderation, and software from ByteDance’s global operations.
TikTok counts more than 200 million American users, its largest national user base.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
