TikTok reaches deal for majority US-owned joint venture

TikTok said on Thursday (US time) that it has reached a deal to establish a majority American-owned joint venture to run its US operations, a move aimed at averting a potential ban on the popular social media platform used by more than 200 million US users.

The deal marks a major milestone for the short-video app after years of regulatory and legal battles that date back to August 2020, when Washington first sought to ban TikTok over national security concerns.

“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 US users,” the company said in its statement.

Under the agreement, American and global investors — including cloud computing giant Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment company MGX — will collectively hold an 80.1 percent stake in the new entity, while ByteDance will retain the remaining 19.9 percent.

Oracle will play a central role in securing US user data and safeguarding TikTok's algorithms, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC said in its statement.

The JV will be led by CEO Adam Presser, who previously headed TikTok's efforts to protect US user data, and chief security officer Will Farrell, who oversaw privacy and security initiatives related to the project.

It will also be overseen by a board that includes TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who will continue running ByteDance's global assets.