ByteDance signs TikTok deal with USA
TikTok's future in the USA has been decided: ByteDance is selling its US business to a new joint venture under US control - with Oracle on board.
The future of TikTok in the USA has now apparently been clarified. The Chinese parent company ByteDance has agreed to the sale of the USA business. The core of the agreement is the transfer of the US business to a US company. This was founded specifically for this purpose and is called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. The company is managed by a consortium of several US companies, including the software group Oracle. ByteDance and its investors continue to hold around 50 per cent of the business. This means that ByteDance no longer has any significant influence on the operational business.
Why is TikTok being sold?
The contracts follow months of political and legal disputes. The US government originally threatened to ban the TikTok app in the USA if ByteDance did not agree to a sale. TikTok then symbolically switched itself off at the beginning of the year. Donald Trump then granted several extensions to the deadline. In September, the governments of the USA and China agreed on a solution.
The deal is expected to be finalised by 22 January 2026 at the latest. Until then, TikTok will continue to be available as before. ByteDance CEO Shou Zi Chew announced that the approximately 170 million US users will not notice anything in their everyday lives. According to those involved, nothing will change for advertisers either.
What will change after the sale
The new operators will take over the tasks that were previously delivered via ByteDance. This includes the management of user data, algorithm security, content moderation and control over the US version of the app. All data from US users will also be stored in the USA in future - in Oracle's cloud.
The algorithm that determines which videos appear for users is crucial to this business. The new owners are retraining this system on the basis of US user data. This is intended to prevent US users «from being influenced from outside» - the US government feared possible espionage by China at times.
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
From the latest iPhone to the return of 80s fashion. The editorial team will help you make sense of it all.
Show all