TikTok Finalizes Sale of U.S. Operations to New Joint Venture

WASHINGTON — ByteDance and TikTok officially closed a deal Thursday to transfer U.S. operations to a new domestic entity, effectively averting a looming federal ban. The agreement, finalized on January 22, 2026, establishes TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC to comply with the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. This move follows years of legal challenges, including a 2025 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the government’s right to mandate a sale on national security grounds. Under the new structure, American and allied investors hold an 80.1 percent majority stake in the venture. ByteDance retains a 19.9 percent minority interest. According to the company’s announcement, the three managing investors are Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, an AI investment firm owned by the United Arab Emirates. Other participants include the Dell Family Office and Vastmere Strategic Investments. While the ownership has shifted, the company stated that U.S. creators will remain discoverable on a global scale and the user experience will remain seamless. Adam Presser has been named CEO of the U.S. spin-off. He will work alongside Will Farrell, the new Chief Security Officer tasked with overseeing cybersecurity and data compliance. The company’s seven-member board of directors includes TikTok global CEO Shou Zi Chew and representatives from the lead investment firms. Per the federal mandate, the board maintains a majority of U.S. members. Security protocols are a central focus of the new joint venture. All U.S. user data is now stored on Oracle’s cloud infrastructure, and the recommendation algorithm will be retrained and tested specifically on U.S. data. This process is monitored by third-party experts to ensure the source code remains secure. While Oracle has served as a data partner since 2023, the joint venture now holds the decision-making authority for trust and safety policies. It’s currently unclear how the new management will alter content moderation practices. Some internal divisions, particularly those focused on global e-commerce and revenue operations, will continue to report to ByteDance-controlled units outside the joint venture. ------------------------------ At Cleveland 13 News, we strive to provide accurate, up-to-date, and reliable reporting. If you spot an error, omission, or have information that may need updating, please email us at <a href="mailto:tips@cleveland13news.com">tips@cleveland13news.com</a>. As a community-driven news network, we appreciate the help of our readers in ensuring the integrity of our reporting.