TikTok signs deal to avert US ban over ownership

TikTok has signed a joint venture deal with investors that would allow the company to maintain operations in the United States and avoid a ban threat over its Chinese ownership.

TikTok announced this on Thursday, December 18, 2025.

According to an internal memo cited by Bloomberg and Axios, TikTok Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shou Chew told employees that the social media company, as well as its Chinese owner ByteDance, had agreed to the new entity, with Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX on board as major investors.

Oracle’s executive chairman and founder Larry Ellison is a longtime ally of United States President Donald Trump.

Chew told staff that one-third of the U.S. venture will be held by existing ByteDance investors, and nearly 20 per cent will be retained by ByteDance – the maximum ownership allowed to a Chinese company under the terms of the law.

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The new set-up for TikTok is in response to a law passed under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, that has forced ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a ban in its biggest market.

U.S. policymakers, including Trump in his first presidency, have warned that China could use TikTok to mine data from Americans or exert influence through its state-of-the-art algorithm.

Trump has repeatedly delayed enforcement through successive executive orders, most recently extending the deadline until January.

The deal largely confirms a September announcement by the White House that said a new venture had been agreed with China and would meet the requirements of the 2024 law.

The Star