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TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has done just that I signed a deal with a group of non-Chinese investors to form a majority American-owned joint venture to keep the social app running in the US. The deal ends a six-year political saga that began in 2020 when President Donald Trump tried to ban the app over national security concerns during his first term.
Adam Presser, who was head of operations, trust and safety at TikTok, will be CEO of TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. TikTok CEO Shou Chew will serve as director.
The three investors managing the project – Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX – will each own a 15% stake. Other investors include Michael Dell’s family investment firm, along with several smaller investors.
The TikTok USDS joint venture “will operate under specific safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software safeguards for U.S. users,” TikTok said.
The joint venture will operate as an independent entity governed by seven members. In addition to Chiu, the board includes Timothy Duttles of TPG Global, Mark Dooley of Susquehanna International Group, Egon Durban, co-CEO of Silver Lake, Raul Fernandez, CEO of DXC Technology, Kenneth Gluck of Oracle, and David Scott of MGX.
Trump celebrated the deal in a Posted on Social TruthPointing out that the application “will now be owned by a group of great American patriots and investors, the largest in the world, and it will be an important voice.”