- TikTok has reached an agreement to continue operating in the United States
- Original owner ByteDance retains a 19.9% stake.
- The TikTok algorithm will be retrained for users in the US
It’s been a long time coming, but TikTok has now officially completed the process of spinning off its US operations, meaning the video-based social media app will continue to be available to hundreds of millions of users in the US.
Reports last month suggested a deal could be struck in January, and now here we are. Chinese TikTok owner ByteDance has a 19.9% minority stake in the new US-owned entity that controls US TikTok, with other investments from companies including Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX.
In a press release, TikTok said the deal will enable “more than 200 million Americans and 7.5 million businesses to continue to discover, create and thrive as part of TikTok’s vibrant global community and experience”.
Here are five things to know about the U.S. TikTok deal now that it’s finalized.
1. This was signed into law in 2024
You’d be forgiven for forgetting how we got here. For years, US authorities have been concerned about the security and privacy implications of having such a successful and widespread Chinese-owned app operating in the US, and under President Biden, a law was signed to force ByteDance to get out of the US or hand over some control.
The main claim by ByteDance – which has been strongly denied – is that it collects and stores a large amount of data on US citizens in cooperation with the Chinese government. The same kind of security concerns have led to devices from DJI – another Chinese company – being banned in the US.
2. TikTok US will use a different algorithm
One of the changes that TikTok users in the US will now see is a different or at least retrained algorithm: this will be controlled and secured by Oracle using its cloud technology and protected by US privacy laws. The new algorithm will be trained on US data, according to the agreement.
It’s hard to say exactly how the typical TikTok feed in the US might change as a result, but we do know that the quality of the recommendation algorithm is a key part of TikTok’s success. “One thing is for sure: TikTok in America will not be the same,” Forrester analyst Kelsey Chickering told the BBC after the news broke.
3. TikTok content will not be geo-fenced
While the US TikTok algorithm and user data will be locked away by Oracle in the US, the content users see in their feeds will not be geo-fenced: if you’re in the US, you’ll still see videos from around the world, and if you’re outside the US, you’ll still be able to see content made by creators in America.
That’s good news for content creators and advertisers, but it also means there will be a lot of uncertainty about reach. With the algorithm changes, going viral – and getting all the benefits that come with it – may be more difficult than it was before, but we’ll have to wait and see how that plays out over the coming months and years.
4. Data security is a crucial part of the agreement
As you’d expect, given what made this deal happen, much is being made of the data security protections that now apply to TikTok’s US operations. The new consortium of companies says “comprehensive data protection and cyber security measures” will be put in place, and those measures will be audited by third-party security experts.
However, this does not mean that TikTok users in the US will not be tracked and targeted by advertising – look, for example, at the operation of US companies such as Facebook and Google. Again, this is something that will become clearer over time in terms of the details, but it is one of the most important controls that ByteDance has given up.
5. This is not just about TikTok
This new TikTok deal comes in the context of ongoing tensions between the US and China. The White House has slapped hefty tariffs on goods imported into the US, and relations between the two countries aren’t the most cordial at the moment, which is something that this TikTok deal could ultimately help with.
President Trump is expected to visit China at some point during 2026, at which point we may well hear more about TikTok and how the two countries can work together. Although an addictive video sharing app is not at the top of the priority list when it comes to global deals and diplomacy, a ban on TikTok in the US has now officially been averted.
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