TikTok announced Thursday the formation of a U.S.-based joint venture that will allow the app to continue operating under American leadership.
Adam Presser, who has worked at TikTok for almost four years and was previously a senior executive at Warner Bros., will serve as CEO of TikTok USDS Joint Venture, with TikTok CEO Shou Chew joining its seven-member board, the majority of whom are American. ByteDance will retain a 19.9 percent stake, while Silver Lake, Oracle, and MGX serve as managing investors alongside other U.S. backers.
The venture will operate independently with safeguards covering data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance. TikTok said its recommendation algorithm will be hosted in Oracle’s U.S. data centers and updated using American user data.
President Trump praised the agreement in a Truth Social post, calling the new ownership group “Great American Patriots and Investors” and thanking Chinese President Xi Jinping for “working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal.” He added that Xi “could have gone the other way, but didn’t, and is appreciated for his decision.”
