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A deal to restructure TikTok\u2019s US business looks likely to head off a long-threatened ban by shifting operational control to American investors while leaving parent company ByteDance with a minority stake. The agreement was first reported by Axios<\/a>.<\/p>\n ByteDance has signed binding agreements to place TikTok\u2019s US operations into a newly formed, majority-American joint venture, with a target closing date of 22 January 2026. The move follows years of bipartisan pressure in Washington over data security, algorithmic influence and concerns about Chinese government access to U.S. user information.<\/p>\n According to Reuters, the new entity \u2013 TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC \u2013 will be controlled by an investor consortium led by Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX. Reuters reports the consortium will hold 80.1% of the venture, with ByteDance retaining a 19.9% stake.<\/p>\n Axios values the transaction at about $14bn and describes it as the culmination of regulatory efforts dating back to 2020. AP reports the venture will have a majority-American board and that Oracle will manage storage of US user data.<\/p>\n Alongside this provision around user data, governance and oversight will be based in the United States, and new controls will apply to the algorithm that powers TikTok\u2019s For You feed. ByteDance will retain ownership of the source code and license it to the US entity rather than transferring it outright, preserving intellectual property while placing operational authority with American overseers.<\/p>\n The transaction addresses high political and commercial stakes. PhoneArena reports TikTok had about 1.59bn monthly active users worldwide in early 2025, including roughly 135.8m in the United States, and generated around $23bn in global revenue the previous year, largely from advertising. U.S. users spend an average of 52 minutes a day on the app, helping explain the intensity of regulatory scrutiny.<\/p>\n Lawmakers and regulators will now assess whether the structure meets the requirements of the 2024 US law that mandated divestiture or a shutdown, and whether a 19.9% ByteDance stake is sufficient to avoid the business being deemed foreign-controlled. Governance rules, algorithm licensing arrangements and the independence of content moderation will be central to that assessment.<\/p>\n