Avert the Ban: A U.S.-China Deal Will Grant Americans Majority Control Over TikTok

According to The Wall Street Journal, the United States and China have approached a final agreement under which TikTok’s U.S. operations would come under majority American control. US investors would hold roughly 80% of the equity, while Chinese shareholders would own less than 20%, with the U.S. government granted authority to appoint a director to TikTok’s governance structure to ensure a U.S.-led operational direction.

American stakeholders named include Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and private equity firm Silver Lake, with Oracle continuing to oversee U.S. user data stored domestically and in compliance with American privacy regulations. TikTok will launch a new U.S.-specific app, with its algorithm rebuilt by engineers under technology licensed from ByteDance, meaning the core algorithm remains rooted in China’s intellectual property but operates under independent data governance.

President Donald Trump had indicated, as early as June, that the deal could be finalised within about two weeks, though negotiations have faced delays and extended ban deadlines. The article notes TikTok’s U.S. presence is near 170 million active users, highlighting the potential precedent for data governance and equity distribution in multinational tech companies.