TikTok’s journey through the American regulatory landscape reached a pivotal milestone Thursday with the announcement of a finalized ownership restructuring that gives American investors controlling interest in a new US-based entity. This agreement allows the platform to continue operations while addressing longstanding national security concerns that nearly resulted in a complete ban.
The ownership reconfiguration dramatically limits ByteDance to a 19.9% minority stake in the American version of TikTok, while US-based investors command 80.1% of the company. Three primary investors share equal 15% portions: Oracle, the enterprise software and cloud infrastructure company; Silver Lake, a prominent private equity firm focused on technology investments; and MGX, an investment entity based in Abu Dhabi. The investment portfolio of Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell also contributes to the American ownership group.
This settlement addresses a law enacted by Congress in 2024 that effectively banned TikTok unless it separated from Chinese ownership within a specified timeframe. The legislation reflected widespread concern among US policymakers and intelligence officials about potential risks to national security, including unauthorized data access by foreign governments and algorithmic manipulation of American users. The Supreme Court upheld the ban in January 2025, but President Trump intervened with executive orders postponing enforcement to facilitate negotiations.
The restructured American TikTok will be managed by Adam Presser as chief executive officer, drawing on his substantial experience with the company’s global operations and safety systems. Governance authority rests with a seven-person board of directors, purposefully constructed with an American majority and composed of individuals with deep expertise in cybersecurity and national security matters. Shou Chew, who leads TikTok globally, will participate as a board member.
According to the company’s announcement, the US entity will operate with defined safeguards designed to protect national security through multiple layers of protection. These include comprehensive data protection systems, algorithm security measures, enhanced content moderation, and software integrity assurances specifically tailored for American users. A key component involves completely retraining the content recommendation algorithm using only US user data, with rigorous testing and ongoing updates to ensure independence from foreign influence. Both the US and Chinese governments have reportedly signed off on the arrangement, bringing closure to a contentious chapter in international technology relations.