For nearly two years, the future of TikTok in the U.S. was in doubt. Congress passed a law requiring its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app's U.S. business or see it banned, citing the risk that China's government could access Americans' data or influence what they see. The deadline came and went, the app briefly went dark, and President Donald Trump repeatedly delayed enforcement while he negotiated a sale.

Who owns TikTok U.S. now

The deal closed on Jan. 22, 2026. A new company, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, runs the app in the U.S.:

  • American and other non-Chinese investors hold 80.1%, including Oracle, the private equity firm Silver Lake and MGX, an investment fund from Abu Dhabi, with 15% each.
  • ByteDance keeps 19.9%, the maximum allowed under the law.
  • Oracle serves as the security partner, auditing compliance and hosting U.S. user data.
  • The algorithm is licensed from ByteDance and retrained on U.S. user data.
  • Leadership: A seven-member board that includes TikTok CEO Shou Chew; Adam Presser was named CEO of the joint venture (Axios; Fox Business; Yahoo Finance).

Timeline

April 2024 — The law

President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, giving ByteDance until Jan. 19, 2025, to sell TikTok's U.S. operations or face a ban on app stores and web hosting.

December 2024 — TikTok loses in court

A federal appeals court in Washington unanimously upheld the law, rejecting TikTok's argument that it violated the First Amendment. At the same time, ByteDance was emerging as the leader in China's race to develop generative AI and as Nvidia's biggest customer in the country — underscoring how central its technology, including TikTok's recommendation algorithm, was to the dispute.

January 2025 — The Supreme Court and the blackout

On Jan. 17, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law. TikTok went dark for U.S. users on Jan. 18–19, then came back after Trump promised not to enforce the ban. On his first day in office, he signed an order delaying enforcement for 75 days — the first of several extensions.

September 2025 — A deal framework

After talks with China, Trump approved a framework for a new U.S. joint venture, and the administration put TikTok's U.S. business value at about $14 billion. In October, reports that Trump's 19-year-old son, Barron, was being suggested for a role on TikTok's new board drew attention; he was not named to the board when the deal closed.

January 22, 2026 — The deal closes

A day before the latest deadline, the joint venture deal closed, ending the threat of a ban (TechSpot).

What's still debated

Critics in Congress have questioned whether a structure in which ByteDance keeps a stake and licenses the algorithm fully meets the law's ban on "operational relationships" with a foreign adversary. Supporters say Oracle's oversight and the retraining of the algorithm address the national security concerns.

Sources