TikTok, the global short video social media platform, has announced a new joint venture agreement designed to allow the company to continue operating in the United States while avoiding a potential nationwide ban linked to its Chinese ownership structure.
The development was disclosed on Friday, 19 December 2025, through an internal memo sent to employees by TikTok Chief Executive Officer, Shou Chew, who leads the platform owned by ByteDance, a China based technology company. The memo revealed that TikTok and ByteDance had agreed to establish a new United States focused business entity backed by major American and international investors.
Okay News reports that the new venture includes Oracle Corporation, a United States based multinational technology company, Silver Lake, a United States private equity firm, and MGX, an investment company based in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, as core investors in the arrangement.
According to Chew, the United States joint venture will be responsible for overseeing critical operational areas including user data protection, algorithm security, content moderation standards, and software assurance for American users. He explained that the new entity would also hold exclusive authority to provide assurances that content, software systems, and user data within the United States remain secure.
Under the ownership structure outlined in the memo, a consortium of new investors comprising Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX will collectively hold 50 percent of the venture, with each firm owning 15 percent. Affiliates of existing ByteDance investors will control slightly above 30 percent, while ByteDance itself will retain just under 20 percent, which represents the maximum ownership stake permitted for a Chinese company under United States law.
The memo further noted that TikTok Global’s United States entities will continue to manage global product interoperability as well as selected commercial operations such as electronic commerce, advertising, and marketing initiatives.
Chew acknowledged that several regulatory and administrative steps remain outstanding ahead of the planned closing date of Wednesday, 22 January 2026, emphasizing that the company is still working to meet all legal and operational requirements.
The new structure follows legislation enacted during the administration of United States President Joe Biden, the forty sixth President of the United States, which mandated that ByteDance divest TikTok’s United States operations or face a ban in one of its largest and most lucrative markets.
Concerns raised by United States policymakers, including during the first presidency of Donald Trump, the forty fifth and current President of the United States, centered on fears that the Chinese government could potentially access data from American users or influence public opinion through TikTok’s advanced recommendation algorithm.
Trump has since delayed enforcement of the law through multiple executive orders, most recently extending the compliance deadline into January. The current deal confirms a September announcement by the White House stating that a new arrangement had been agreed upon and would satisfy the requirements of the 2024 law.
“If I could make it 100 percent MAGA I would, but it is not going to work out that way unfortunately,” Trump told reporters following the September announcement.
The memo also marked the first public indication that TikTok had formally signed on to the agreement, a move that reportedly required approval from the Chinese government.
Trump previously identified Larry Ellison, the executive chairman and founder of Oracle Corporation and one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, as a central figure in the arrangement. Ellison has recently re entered the political and business spotlight through his association with Trump, including participation in major artificial intelligence partnerships involving OpenAI.
Ellison has also drawn attention for financing his son David Ellison’s acquisition of Paramount and for involvement in a competitive bidding process alongside Netflix to take over Warner Bros.
ByteDance did not issue an immediate public response to the announcement. However, analysts described the agreement as a compromise that prevents the company from losing access to the United States market.
“Keeping the United States operation live is itself a victory for ByteDance,” said Li Chengdong, founder of Dolphin, a Chinese technology consultancy firm.
Li added that resolving the dispute could allow ByteDance to concentrate on emerging ventures such as artificial intelligence development and potentially move closer to an initial public offering.
Another analyst, Zhang Yi, from iiMedia, a technology research firm, noted that while the United States market remains critically important to TikTok, regulatory challenges could persist.
“The United States side could still leverage its regulatory power to impose unfair demands on TikTok,” Zhang said.
