TikTok closed a deal to continue operating in the US thanks to Trump's pressure

TikTok took a decisive step to secure its continuity in the United States after its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, signed binding agreements to sell more than 80% of its U.S. assets to a group of U.S. and global investors.

The announcement, communicated to employees by the chief executive officer of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, marks the outcome of a process that dates back to 2020, when the administration of President Donald Trump first pushed measures to ban the application on national security grounds.

The transaction, which is expected to close on January 22, provides for the creation of a new entity called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. This company will be designed to isolate TikTok's operations in the United States from majority Chinese influence, one of the main objectives set by the White House during Trump's term. The agreement involves Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based firm MGX as managing investors.

The political pressure on TikTok formally began in August 2020, when Trump issued executive orders that sought to ban the application if ByteDance did not sell its U.S. operations.

The government argued that Chinese ownership of the platform posed a risk to the personal data of U.S. users and to national security. Although the initial attempts at a ban were blocked in the courts and did not materialize during Trump's first term, they established a precedent that kept TikTok under constant regulatory scrutiny.

In the following years, the threat of a ban remained latent. In September, Trump announced a postponement until January 20 of the implementation of the law that would bar the app if the sale of its assets in the United States was not completed. At that time, the president stated that the preliminary agreement presented met the divestment requirements demanded by his administration, paving the way for its completion.

According to the now-confirmed terms, 50% of the new company will be in the hands of a consortium of new investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, each with a 15% stake.

Another 30.1% will be controlled by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, while the Chinese company will retain only 19.9%, remaining a minority shareholder. This structure directly reflects the demands pushed by the Trump administration to reduce Chinese control over the platform in the U.S. market.

TikTok stated in an internal memo that the agreement will allow more than 170 million Americans to continue using the application. Oracle declined to release comments, while the White House referred inquiries directly to the company. ByteDance, meanwhile, did not immediately respond to requests for additional information.

The agreement puts an end to years of uncertainty about TikTok's future in the United States and represents a victory in the strategy adopted during Trump's presidency.

Although his initial attempt to ban the application did not achieve immediate success, the political pressure exerted since 2020 laid the groundwork for a restructuring that ultimately separates the U.S. assets from ByteDance's majority control.