TikTok finalizes U.S. ownership deal settling dispute between Trump and Biden

TikTok agreed to form a majority American-owned joint venture under the TikTok U.S. Data Security (USDS) organization, with ByteDance retaining a 19.9% minority stake while U.S. investors hold larger shares.

TikTok has finalized an agreement to create a majority American-owned joint venture to oversee its U.S. operations. The new structure is organized under the TikTok U.S. Data Security (USDS) organization. It is intended to keep user data, the platform algorithm and content moderation under U.S. governance. ByteDance will retain a 19.9% minority stake while several U.S. investors, including Silver Lake, Oracle and MGX, hold larger shares. The deal resolves a multi-year political and legal dispute over ownership and national security concerns. Key points: - The joint venture will be majority American-owned and governed under the TikTok U.S. Data Security (USDS) organization with a board made up mostly of American executives. - ByteDance will retain a 19.9% minority stake; Silver Lake, Oracle and MGX are reported to each hold 15%, and other investment firms also participated. - More than 200 million Americans and about 7.5 million U.S. businesses are reported to remain active on the platform. - Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed publicly. - The dispute began with a CFIUS review during President Donald Trump’s first term and later involved legislation passed in 2024 that targeted apps linked to foreign adversaries. - In his second term, President Trump delayed enforcement of the earlier ban and continued negotiations that helped lead to this agreement. Summary: The agreement ends a multi-year ownership and national security dispute by placing U.S. operations under a mostly American board through the USDS structure and leaving ByteDance with a minority stake. It brings several U.S. investors into prominent ownership positions. Undetermined at this time.