TikTok is finalizing a deal to create a new US entity and avoid a ban

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has signed a deal with a group of non-Chinese investors to form a majority-American-owned joint venture to keep the social app running in the United States. The deal ends a six-year political saga that began in 2020 when President Donald Trump tried to ban the app over national security concerns during his first term.

Adam Presser, who was head of operations, trust and safety at TikTok, will be CEO of TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. TikTok CEO Shou Chew will serve as director.

The three investors managing the project – Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX – will each own a 15% stake. Other investors include Michael Dell’s family investment firm, along with several smaller investors.

The TikTok USDS joint venture “will operate under specific safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software safeguards for U.S. users,” TikTok said.

The joint venture will operate as an independent entity governed by seven members. In addition to Chiu, the board includes Timothy Duttles, a senior advisor to investment firm TPG Global, Susquehanna International Group’s Mark Dooley, Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban, DXC Technology CEO Raul Fernandez, Oracle’s Kenneth Gluck, and MGX’s David Scott.

Trump celebrated the deal in a post on Truth Social, noting that the app “will now be owned by a group of great American patriots and investors, the largest in the world, and will be an important voice.”