The future of TikTok in the United States has revolved around a single, unanswerable question for years: how could the company operate here while also addressing concerns about its Chinese parent company?
That issue took a giant step toward resolution on Thursday. TikTok said it has tentatively agreed to a sales structure that would allow its American operations to be led by a new board with an American chairman, according to people briefed on the matter, a proposal first floated by the White House months ago. The move could save the app from a sweeping ban in the United States that has loomed over it for years.
TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Chew said the company and its Chinese parent, ByteDance Ltd., have entered into “definitive agreements” to create a U.S.-domiciled entity that will be majority owned by American and global investors, Bloomberg reported. “We are thrilled to be able to share some great news,” Chew said, adding that “agreements with Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX have been reached. The transaction is anticipated to close on Jan. 22, 2026, but Chew said that “there’s more work yet to be done” between now and then.
It is still unclear whether Chinese regulators will sign off on the deal. Assuming it is finalized, the new US entity — TikTok Global — would be in charge of all TikTok operations in that country and data protection, while also overseeing content moderation and algorithm safety. Chew also noted that a seven-member board with a majority of American directors would oversee it. Oracle’s shares rose in after-hours trading following the announcement.
Why this matters
The US business of TikTok isn’t an obscure offering. The app is among the most popular social media platforms in America, with over 170 million American users. More than half of US adults are on TikTok, and even more among younger people. The platform is now a major source of culture, advertising and even news; data from Pew Research shows that the share of US adults who regularly get news from TikTok has steadily increased in recent years.
That popularity has contributed to the level of political tension in the situation. For years, United States lawmakers have worried about national security as they try to keep China’s reach in check: They warned that ByteDance and its ties to China could result in Beijing tapping into the app and making off with the data of American users, or using TikTok to put propaganda-like videos before domestic eyes — or something equally insidious. These fears led to the signing in 2024 by Congress of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which mandates that specific foreign-owned platforms divest or be banned.
At the same time, according to the terms of the proposed deal, TikTok’s United States operations would be valued at roughly $14 billion — a number lower than some outside estimates of its market value but that does reflect the regulatory risk facing the parent firm.
American and international investors — Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX would collectively own half of the new entity. Current ByteDance investors would own another 30.1% and ByteDance itself would maintain a 19.9% stake.
The split means that ByteDance would still occupy a role larger than none, but smaller than before. That has sparked criticism from some lawmakers who say even limited participation could flout the spirit of the national security law. Critics have said that the agreement could still leave gaps in separating TikTok’s operations from ByteDance, particularly regarding its recommendation algorithm.
Algorithm and influence
Often, the subject of these debates is TikTok’s recommendation system. The “For You” feed — which uses machine learning to determine what content to present and when to users — is mainly responsible for powering app virality and stickiness, at least among influencers who’ve flocked there from other platforms in search of audiences. But it has also raised concerns because its algorithm determines what people see, including political and news content. Studies have shown that TikTok’s recommendations may shape how users view political issues, but the research is still emerging.
Under the proposed deal, ByteDance would license a version of its recommendation engine to the new American entity. That system would then be retrained on US data stored and protected by Oracle, to restrict access from foreign countries. Still, there are questions about how much control ByteDance would continue to have over the underlying technology and whether the deal meets a legal requirement that operational ties be severed.
Oracle’s position mirrors a prior attempt to allay national security concerns, known as Project Texas, which called for Oracle to take control of user data worldwide from the United States. The United States government had previously rejected that plan as inadequate, but the new deal borrows from its idea and augments it with more structural protections.
Political and legal backdrop
The sale is the result of years of political and legal battles. A law mandating that TikTok be sold took effect in 2025; at one point, the app was pulled from American app stores due to enforcement of that law, and later reinstated due to a moratorium on such enforcement imposed by executive action.
Surveys have found that public alarm about TikTok’s ownership is almost universal. In one national poll a large majority of Americans expressed caution about Chinese ownership and said they would support either a forced sale or a ban. Issues raised ranged from possible data abuse to political control and algorithmic manipulation.
Its sale plan is now in motion, but its ultimate fate is not a done deal. The deal is contingent on Chinese regulatory approval, and terms of the governance and control remain under negotiation.
What does it mean going forward
In addition to resolving a long-simmering legal requirement, the deal could become a template for how platforms associated with foreign companies are treated in the United States. For users, it could mean unfettered access to the app. In policy circles, it serves as a test of whether national security issues can be resolved through changes in ownership structures rather than outright bans.
At the same time, the more sweeping issues raised by TikTok — around data, influence and platform power — are unresolved. The enormous reach of the app — particularly among young people — will keep it at the center for debates about privacy, regulation and digital culture in the United States.
