TikTok US Joint Venture Finalized With Majority American Ownership

The structure of TikTok’s U.S. operations changed following new federal requirements, resulting in the creation of a joint venture with majority American ownership. This development follows legislation that required certain foreign-owned apps to divest U.S. operations by early 2025.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, enacted in April 2024, set a deadline for companies such as TikTok to transfer ownership of their U.S. businesses. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance signed agreements in December 2025 to form TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, which was finalized in January 2026.

The new joint venture is governed by a U.S. board and is structured to oversee data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance for users in the United States. Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX each hold a 15% ownership stake, while ByteDance retains a 19.9% minority interest in the entity.

Oracle is responsible for hosting U.S. user data in its cloud infrastructure and will act as the trusted security partner, conducting third-party audits. The joint venture will also retrain TikTok’s recommendation algorithm using data from U.S. users to address concerns about external influence.

What the numbers show

• The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act was enacted in April 2024
• Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX each hold a 15% stake in the joint venture
• ByteDance maintains a 19.9% minority stake in the U.S. entity
• Over 170 million U.S. users can continue using TikTok under the new structure

Adam Presser has been appointed as CEO of the new U.S. entity, and Shou Zi Chew will serve as a board member. The joint venture’s governance is designed to separate U.S. operations from the global business, while certain functions, such as e-commerce and advertising, remain under the control of the global TikTok organization.

The joint venture’s responsibilities include ensuring that U.S. user data is managed according to the new regulatory framework. The entity is also tasked with maintaining software assurance and content moderation processes specific to the U.S. market.

Under the new structure, TikTok’s U.S. user base, which exceeds 170 million, can continue to access the app. The arrangement is intended to comply with the requirements set by the 2024 legislation while maintaining service continuity for American users.

The formation of TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC marks a procedural response to federal law, establishing majority American ownership and a U.S.-based governance model for the platform’s domestic operations. The arrangement outlines distinct roles for both the U.S. joint venture and the global parent company regarding operational oversight and business functions.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.