TikTok Seals Deal to Operate in the US After Years of Drama

Summary

TikTok and ByteDance have closed a deal to transfer parts of TikTok's US operations to a new US joint venture with Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX as managing investors. The new entity will lease a copy of ByteDance's algorithm, retrain it on US user data, and handle content moderation, while ByteDance retains TikTok Shop and advertising. The deal is viewed as a win for China, Trump, and content creators, but questions remain about whether it satisfies the law and whether there is political will to challenge it.

• TikTok closed a long-awaited US joint venture deal with ByteDance.
• Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX are the three managing investors.
• ByteDance will lease a copy of its algorithm to the US JV, which will retrain it on US user data.
• The US JV will be responsible for content moderation and the US user experience.
• ByteDance retains TikTok Shop and the advertising business.
• China and ByteDance are seen as winners, while Trump and content creators also benefit.
• Critics question whether the deal meets statutory terms, but political appetite for action appears limited.