TikTok has finalised a deal to allow its American business to continue, by creating a new US entity separate from its global operations, which are run out of China
Under the deal, TikTok's success-defining algorithm will be retrained on US user data only, which will be protected to meet American regulations
This means American user experience might change
The app was due to be banned in January 2025 if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, failed to spin-off its American operations to US investors but President Donald Trump repeatedly postponed enforcement
Lawmakers at the time expressed fears that the Chinese government could force ByteDance to hand over data of US users of the app
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Watch: Does TikTok's US deal threaten the company's global ambitions?
Edited by Yvette Tan, with reporting from Lily Jamali in San Francisco and Suranjana Tewari and Peter Hoskins in Singapore
We're winding down our live coverage of TikTok's announcement of a new deal. Before we close this page, here's what you need to know:
For the latest, read more in our new story here. 
Laura Bicker
China correspondent
Beijing has stalled this TikTok deal for years.
China even amended its lists of export controls to include the technology at the heart of TikTok – its algorithms and source codes.
For the past six months, Beijing has also been vague about any agreement and would only say that any deal would have to be in China’s interests.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping will have his own reasons for appearing to give Trump a win. The US president will be able to tout his deal making skills and boast that he has saved the app ‘for the kids’, while Beijing will be able to show its ability to co-operate.
Crucially, China hasn’t given away everything. It has retained some control.
And now that Washington and Beijing have managed to agree a deal on something that has proved to be so contentious, it shows promise for other negotiations. At the moment, the two sides have only agreed to a trade truce for a year, but China will be eager to put Trump's threats of high tariffs on its goods in the rear-view mirror.
This deal is a sign that talks between the two sides are progressing ahead of Trump’s potential visit to Beijing in April.
Xi will be ready to roll out the red carpet – and if it happens, it could be quite the show.
Suranjana Tewari
Asia Business Correspondent
The licensing deal allows ByteDance to keep its algorithm under wraps – a strategic advantage if the US ever intends to launch new apps to compete with those already operating in the country, computer scientist Ben Leong told the BBC last year.
And rather than be banned, TikTok gets to stay in the US market. TikTok's parent would also retain the single biggest stake in the app, along with the logo, format and branding.
The deal also creates a "TikTok Template" for other Chinese companies to deploy their technology in the US through licensing, investor and tech expert Kevin Xu wrote in a newsletter in 2025.
He added that ready-to-go Chinese technologies could now flow to the US more easily.
"This is the formula that will likely be applied should, say, BYD want to make a jump into the US market, or CATL want to step up its expansion to supply more US carmakers with its batteries."
China can spin the deal as a win too – it is exporting Chinese-made tech on its own terms. And that might be critical leverage for Beijing in trade negotiations with Washington.
The Republican chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan says the deal will need to be scrutinised.
He told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that the panel will have a public hearing "in the coming months", focusing on two questions.
"One is: Does it make sure that the [Chinese Communist Party] does not have influence over the algorithm? And the other is: Can we assure Americans that their data is secure? Those are the two questions that need to be answered as we go forward," he said.
"most of us are not knowledgeable about the internal workings of that deal," he added.
Reactions on Chinese social media are fairly muted. Those discussing the deal, if at all, mostly commented on how this years-long saga has "finally reached a conclusion".
One user on Weibo, China's X-like platform, called it a "win-win solution".
However some users expressed scepticism. One mocked the creation of a separate US entity. "The bad thing about it is that Americans can no longer access real information," they wrote.
This lack of concern could be due to the fact that TikTok, despite being owned by a Chinese company, is banned in China along with other mainstream social media apps.
Instead, Chinese users use TikTok's sister app, Douyin, which is only available in China and subject to monitoring and censorship by the government. TikTok and Douyin belong to the same parent company, ByteDance.
Larry Ellison is a Republican mega donor, and longtime friend and political ally of Donald Trump’s
Here's a closer look at key investors of the deal, which we listed in an earlier post.
American cloud computing giant Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX will each hold a 15% stake in the new joint venture.
Oracle is chaired by Larry Ellison, a Republican mega donor, and longtime friend and political ally of Donald Trump’s. In September, Trump had specifically named Ellison, 81, as part of the group of investors raising a "tremendous amount of money" to fund the arrangement.
The company will oversee the retraining of TikTok’s powerful content recommendation algorithm, which influences what those users see and experience on the app.
TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance will retain a 19.9% stake, keeping its ownership below the 20% threshold stipulated by law.
The remaining 35.1% of the joint venture is owned by: the family office of tech executive Michael Dell, another Trump supporter; Vastmere Strategic Investments, a subsidiary of quantitative trading firm Susquehanna founded by yet another Trump ally Jeff Yass; Alpha Wave Partners; Revolution; Meritt Way; Via Nova; Virgo LI; and NJJ Capital.
In the US, a handful of TikTok users have posted about the deal, raising questions about what it means for the algorithm, their content and their future on the app.
"We don't know a lot of things right now," says TikTok user Joey Contino, external. "The hope is that by tomorrow we can get more clarity. Hopefully we'll get some kind of structure."
"I don't know what the heck this means for us moving forward. They could start retraining the algorithm. A whole host of things. My algorithm's already a little messed up," says TikTok journalist Aaron Parnas, external, encouraging his 4.7mn followers to also follow him on other social media apps.
"Ill keep posting on this platform no matter what, but it may be harder to come see my content soon because officially the deal is through," Parnas says.Suranjana Tewari
Asia Business Correspondent
Trump has been keen on a TikTok deal after he recognised young voters on the app helped him win the 2024 election – despite originally supporting a ban during his first term.
The closing of the deal is a big win for his administration. One in seven people in the world use the app, which also doubles up as a huge marketplace for buyers and sellers across the world, from the US to Germany, Indonesia to the Philippines.
The average revenue per user for most social media apps in the US is five to 10 times higher than other countries, with America likely making up something close to 50% of ByteDance's overall revenue, a social media expert told the BBC.
Tech news site The Information estimated ByteDance's global revenue to be $39bn (£28.6bn) in 2024, with TikTok accounting for $30bn.
We already knew TikTok is hugely popular but we've now learnt that it has even more users in the US than thought.
The company had previously said it had 170 million American users.
A lowkey but notable detail in the announcement was that the number now stands at more than 200 million – a fact that was also repeated in CEO Shou's latest post on TikTok.
TikTok also says 7.5 million US businesses use the app.
We're looking again at the statement posted by TikTok with details of the new venture.
TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC describes itself as a "comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity program" operating "under defined safeguards to protect national security and secure US user data, apps and the algorithm."
Those safeguards appear to be delineated as data protection, algorithm security, software assurance, and the more vague trust and safety, according to the statement.
The USDS claims it safeguards the US content ecosystem and holds decision-making authority "for trust and safety policies and moderation".
"USDS Joint Venture helps ensure Americans can continue to express their creativity, discover new hobbies and interests, and build thriving communities and businesses on a global scale," the statement says.
US President Donald Trump has now weighed in on the deal, saying he is "so happy to have helped in saving TikTok!"
"It will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors," he said in a social media post.
Trump also reiterated his claim that the app helped him to win over young voters in the 2024 presidential election, adding that he hopes that "long into the future I will be remembered by those who use and love TikTok".
The post continues with Trump thanking Vice President JD Vance and others in his administration for their help with the negotiations.
He ended his message by sharing his appreciation that Chinese leader Xi Jinping approved the deal, saying: "He could have gone the other way, but didn’t, and is appreciated for his decision."
TikTok's CEO Shou Chew just posted on TikTok, external thanking the platform's one billion users across the world for "continuing to share your creativity and passion".
He does not explicitly mention the deal, but specifies the "200 million Americans" among them.
"We are grateful to have you as part of our TikTok community and are looking forward to seeing more of your creative spirit, great storytelling, and bringing joy to everyone, everywhere," he said.
The initial comments on his post are mixed, with some users congratulating TikTok on the deal and others criticising the company for "selling out".
July 2020 – Trump floats the idea of a ban on TikTok, citing China's alleged mishandling of the pandemic. Soon, US lawmakers begin to raise concerns about the app, its content and security
August 2020 – Trump issues an executive order imposing broad sanctions against TikTok. A few days later, he issues another executive order demanding ByteDance sell its US assets to an American company
February 2021 – Then US President Joe Biden postpones legal cases involving Trump's attempts to ban the app
Dec 2022 – FBI Director Christopher Wray raises national security concerns about TikTok, warning that Chinese officials could manipulate its algorithm
March 2024 – A bill to ban TikTok or force its sale to a US company gathers steam in Congress
April and May 2024 – Congress passes and Biden signs a national security law that bans the app
May 2024 – TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance sue the US government to challenge the law, arguing it's unconstitutional
June 2024 – Trump, who is running for his second term, joins TikTok and posts campaign content
17 January 2025 – After making its way through appeals, the US Supreme Court upholds the law, which forced the spinoff of TikTok from ByteDance
18 January 2025 – TikTok goes dark for US users for 12 to 14 hours as the ban takes effect. It's restored upon Trump's promise to sign an executive order and issues a 75-day postponement.
September 2025 – Trump announces he has reached a deal with China to keep the app running in the US
During his first term in office, Trump had backed a TikTok ban. This was a sentiment that enjoyed bipartisan support and culminated in a law during Joe Biden's administration requiring TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance to divest its US operations.
But Trump U-turned on his position and began advocating against banning the app early in 2024. In June that year, he joined the platform and amassed more than 1.1 million followers in less than a day.
He now has 16 million followers on the platform, compared to 11.6 million on Truth Social, a platform he founded and launched in 2022.
Shortly after he won a non-consecutive second term as US president, Trump said he favoured TikTok to continue operating in the US for at least a little longer, adding he received "billions and billions of views" on the platform during his campaign. He's also repeatedly extended the deadline for the divestment.
In 2025, when asked about his change of heart, Trump candidly said: "Because I got to use it."Laura Bicker
China correspondent
This deal was widely expected so it doesn’t take the tricky relationship between the world's two biggest economies that much further.
What it does tell us is that the two countries are willing to talk and can do a deal if they want to.
Both sides will spin this as a win. It underlines the appeal Chinese tech, and Beijing's influence, while Donald Trump can tout it as proof of his deal-making skills.
The tentative truce Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping reached in October in South Korea appears to be holding – for now.
Let’s see if that will continue until their next expected meeting in April here in China. 
Lily Jamali
North America Technology Correspondent
As we've been reporting, Cloud computing giant Oracle will play a central role in the new joint venture finalised on Thursday.
It will be responsible for securing the data of TikTok’s 200 million American users, according to the joint venture.
It will also oversee the retraining of TikTok’s powerful content recommendation algorithm, which influences what those users see and experience on the app. Oracle was co-founded by Larry Ellison, a political ally and friend of US President Donald Trump’s.
He was the world’s richest person, besting Elon Musk for a brief moment last year.
Ellison has made plenty of news outside of TikTok of late. He has been pursuing American media giant Warner Brothers Discovery, with a hostile bid against Netflix. And last year, he closed on a deal that puts the Ellison family in charge of another major media company, Paramount. (The BBC is a partner of Paramount’s CBS News.)Suranjana Tewari
Asia Business Correspondent
We already knew about the basic structure of the deal through White House announcements, comments from the US President and the Chinese government – that US investors will run the company with TikTok's parent company ByteDance keeping a minority stake.
But there are a few details that have been confirmed with the closing of the deal.
Until now, we didn't know the exact terms on which the US business would operate.
TikTok has now confirmed that a new US entity has been legally created to run the app and meet American regulations.
For the first time, we have more information on how US user data will be protected – the company has given specific details on cybersecurity and data protection rules that the new venture will follow.
We also now know that the powerful recommendation algorithm will be handled separately in the US.
The leadership of the new US company has been clearly defined for the first time too.
Finally, the announcement includes information about how the changes go beyond TikTok.
The same rules will apply to other ByteDance apps like CapCut and Lemon8 that operate in the US.
Critics of Trump's push for US ownership of TikTok have said that the new arrangement doesn't fully adhere to the the Biden-era national security law passed in April 2024.
That law, upheld by the Supreme Court in early 2025, forced a spinoff of TikTok over concerns that the app might share user data with the Chinese government – a claim ByteDance has always denied.
“There remains a disconnect between the agreement and the spirit of what the statute required,” Brett Freedman, who served as chief of staff of the national security division at the Department of Justice during the Biden administration, told the Financial Times, external.
Other potential investors previously have told the BBC that they wanted to see TikTok operate without any of its Chinese technology, including its powerful recommendation algorithm.
Under the law, ByteDance is not allowed to have an operational relationship with US TikTok. But, according to today's announcement, TikTok says that the joint venture complies with the executive order signed by Trump in September.
Trump has said he opposed the ban, despite supporting one in his first term as president.
On Saturday 18 January 2025, the app went dark in the US when the national security law came into effect. But a day later, TikTok resumed services to US users after then President-elect Donald Trump said he would issue an executive order to give the app a reprieve.Suranjana Tewari
Asia Business Correspondent
The announcement confirms a big change to how TikTok's algorithm will work in the US.
It will be run separately from the global app and will be retrained on US user data only.
Experts say that less diverse data will affect users – it might mean a slower, lighter app that operates differently. The algorithm might not recommend content as successfully as the current platform, and so for users, the experience may drift away from the global app.
The data will also be stored and operated inside the US, and because of the licensing setup that TikTok's parent Byetdance have agreed to, Chinese engineers won't have day-to-day control over how the algorithm is run, updated or secured.
The recommendation algorithm is Tiktok's crown jewel – it's why the app feels so addictive and it's what makes creators and posts go viral.
The deal doesn't kill the app but it does change the US version and the powerful system behind it that decides what billions of people see.
Fresh off the confirmation of the deal, it remains unclear how TikTok will look for millions of user in the US. The BBC's Asia business correspondent Suranjana Tewari tells us more:
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