TikTok's US arm has been sold, in a deal that one Senate Democrat says won't do 'a thing to protect the privacy of American users'

(Image credit: DeFodi Images News via Getty Images)

The ongoing saga over TikTok's US status seems to finally be drawing to a close, with a consortium of US investors alongside the Abu Dhabi state investment firm MGX set to take control.

The new owners will take over US operations of the video platform next month on Jan. 22, 2026, with the company running things named TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. The three "managing investors" are Oracle Corporation, Silver Lake, and MGX, which will collectively own 45% of the company, with 5% owned by unnamed new investors. 19.9% of the company will remain in the hands of existing owner ByteDance, while "affiliates of certain existing investors of ByteDance" will hold 30.1%.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued dedication and tireless work" wrote TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in a memo to staff obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. "Your efforts keep us operating at the highest level and will ensure that TikTok continues to grow and thrive in the US and around the world. With these agreements in place, our focus must stay where it's always been—firmly on delivering for our users, creators, businesses and the global TikTok community."

Chew said the deal had been signed Thursday, and outlined some of the terms of it. These include "retraining the content recommendation algorithm on US user data to ensure the content feed is free from outside manipulation" and a guarantee that "ultimate decision-making authority for reviewing and approving all content moderation and related policies [is] within the United States." Oracle, which is already TikTok's cloud provider, will take responsibility for data protection.

This all began in 2020, when Donald Trump threatened to ban the app, claiming that its Chinese ownership represented a national security risk. In 2024, the then-President Joe Biden signed a ban into law, the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," which requires TikTok's owner ByteDance to give up control of TikTok's US operations or shut it down. President Trump has repeatedly extended the deadline on this while seeking US ownership.

The TikTok app with Donald Trump ranting behind it. — (Image credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The agreement was made in September, though no details were released at the time, with President Trump saying "we have a deal on TikTok. I've reached a deal with China. I'm going to speak to President Xi [Jinping] on Friday to confirm everything up."

The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that this deal would require users to move to a new app, which will run on its own content algorithm based on tech licensed from ByteDance.

"TikTok has become a bargaining chip in the wider US-China relationship," Alvin Graylin, a lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told the BBC.

"With recent softening tensions, Beijing's sign-off on the structure and algorithm licensing now looks less like capitulation and more like calibrated de-escalation, letting both capitals claim a win at home."

The deal won't do "a thing to protect the privacy of American users," said Senate Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon, who voted against the 2024 bill. "It's unclear that it will even put TikTok's algorithm in safer hands."

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."

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