- TikTok has closed a deal to continue operating in the US.
- Original owner ByteDance retains a 19.9% stake
- TikTok algorithm will be retrained for US users
It’s been a long time coming, but TikTok has officially completed the process of spinning off its US operations, meaning the video-based social media app will remain accessible to hundreds of millions of users in the United States.
Reports last month suggested a deal could be reached in January, and now here we are. TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has a 19.9% minority stake in the new US-owned company that controls American TikTok, with other investments coming from companies such as Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX.
In a press release, TikTok said the deal will allow “more than 200 million Americans and 7.5 million businesses to continue discovering, creating and thriving as part of TikTok’s vibrant global community and experience.”
Here are five things you should know about the TikTok US deal, now that it’s finalized.
1. This became law in 2024.
You’d be forgiven for forgetting how we got here. For years, US authorities have been concerned about the security and privacy implications associated with such a successful and widely used Chinese-owned app operating in the US, and under President Biden, a law was signed to force ByteDance to leave the US or give up some control.
The main claim directed at ByteDance, which has been strongly denied, is that it is collecting and storing a large amount of data on American citizens, in association with the Chinese government. The same type of safety concerns have led to devices from DJI, another Chinese company, being banned in the United States.
2. TikTok US will use a different algorithm
One of the changes that TikTok users in the United States will now see is a different, or at least retrained, algorithm: it will be controlled and secured by Oracle using its cloud technology, and protected by US privacy laws. The new algorithm will be trained on US data, according to the agreement.
It’s hard to say exactly how the typical US TikTok feed might change as a result, but we know that the quality of the recommendation algorithm is a key part of TikTok’s success. “One thing is for sure: TikTok in the US will not be the same,” Forrester analyst Kelsey Chickering told the BBC after the news was announced.
3. TikTok content will not be geo-fenced
While Oracle will block the US TikTok algorithm and user data in the United States, the content that users see in their feeds will not be geo-fenced: if you are in the US, you will still see videos from around the world, and if you are outside the US, you will still be able to see content created by creators in the United States.
That’s good news for content creators and advertisers, but it also means there will be a lot of uncertainty about reach. With the algorithm changes, going viral (and reaping all the benefits that come with it) may be more difficult than before, but we’ll have to wait and see how this plays out in the coming months and years.
4. Data security is a crucial part of the deal
Unsurprisingly, considering what prompted this deal, there is a lot of talk about the data security protections that now apply to TikTok’s US operations. The new consortium of companies says that “comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity measures” will be implemented, and these measures will be audited by third-party security experts.
However, that doesn’t mean that TikTok users in the US won’t be tracked and targeted for advertising; look at the operations of American companies like Facebook and Google, for example. Again, this is something that will become clearer over time in terms of details, but it is one of the key controls that ByteDance has given up.
5. It’s not just about TikTok
This new TikTok deal comes against the backdrop of current tensions between the United States and China. The White House has been imposing heavy tariffs on goods imported into the United States, and relations between the two countries are not the most cordial at the moment, something this TikTok deal could ultimately help with.
President Trump is expected to visit China sometime during 2026, at which time we may hear more about TikTok and how the two countries can work together. Even if an addictive video-sharing app doesn’t top the priority list when it comes to global deals and diplomacy, a TikTok ban in the US has now been officially averted.
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