TikTok finalises deal to remain in US

TikTok has finalised a deal to keep operating in the US, securing its future in the country after it faced the threat of a nationwide ban.

The popular video-sharing app has established a new majority American-owned joint venture that it says will “operate under defined safeguards that protect national security”.

It follows US President Donald Trump signing an executive order last September allowing it to keep operating and paving the way for the spin-off.

Previous president Joe Biden had signed legislation in 2024 calling for TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the platform’s assets to an American company by early 2025, or face a nationwide ban.

Mr Trump, who came into office a year ago, repeatedly signed orders that allowed the app to remain while his administration tried to reach a permanent agreement.

TikTok said on Friday that its US users will have their data, apps and content recommendation algorithms secured through comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity measures.

Cloud software platform Oracle will be responsible for storing the data of TikTok’s more than 200 million American users.

The joint venture is owned by a consortium of investors including Larry Ellison’s Oracle, tech investment giant Silver Lake, the investment firm of Dell founder Michael Dell, and Abu Dhabi’s AI and tech investor MGX.

ByteDance will retain 19.9% of the spin-off.

It will be run as an independent entity steered by a seven-member board of directors, including Shou Chew, TikTok’s chief executive, and Oracle and Silver Lake executives.

Adam Presser, the former vice president of Warner Bros and TikTok’s head of operations and trust and safety, will become chief executive of the joint venture.

The deal ends years of uncertainty about the future of the social media platform in the US, which feeds its users a stream of video content tailored to their interests and watch history.

The algorithm has been a central issue in the security debate over TikTok, with US officials warning it is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, although no evidence had been presented to show that China had attempted to do so.