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TikTok Finalizes U.S. Joint Venture to Keep App in America

The pact satisfies the 2024 divestment law upheld by the Supreme Court.

Overview

  • ByteDance created TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC with non‑Chinese investors holding 80.1%, including roughly 15% stakes each for Oracle, MGX and Silver Lake, while ByteDance retains 19.9%.
  • Adam Presser was named CEO and Will Farrell chief security officer, with a seven‑member, majority‑American board that includes TikTok CEO Shou Chew and representatives from Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX.
  • U.S. user data will reside in Oracle’s U.S. cloud under a third‑party audited cybersecurity program, and the recommendation algorithm will be retrained on U.S. data.
  • The joint venture has authority over trust and safety policies and content moderation for American users as the app continues serving more than 200 million users and 7.5 million businesses.
  • The White House confirmed U.S. and Chinese sign‑off on the deal, though critics note ByteDance’s minority stake and licensed algorithm leave questions about residual influence.