TikTok’s US unit is reportedly signing a deal with Oracle-led Investor Group

American TikTok creators can breathe a sigh of relief, reports TikTok parent company ByteDance reach an agreement on a deal that will keep the app active in the country, and ensure that the US version of TikTok is sold to a group of mainly US-based investors.

As reported by CNBCTikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew sent an email to staff informing them of the deal, which will go into effect on January 22, 2026, a day before the expiration of President Trump’s fourth Executive Order halting enforcement of the agreement. “Protecting Americans from the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.”

According to CNBC:

“TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew told employees on Thursday that the company’s US operations will be placed under a new joint venture called ‘TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC’. As part of the joint venture, Chew said the company has signed agreements with the three managing investors: OracleSilver Lake and MGX from Abu Dhabi.”

So not all of them are US-based, but this is the same ownership group that the Trump team endorsed in September when it announced its upcoming TikTok deal.

Which didn’t go as expected.

White House officials had expected to get a final agreement on the deal shortly after the September press conference, but Chinese officials were less definitive on the deal, with the CCP seemingly seeking more trade or diplomatic concessions before agreeing to the proposal.

We do not know whether further concessions were made to secure this agreement, but several media outlets are reporting that the deal has been communicated to TikTok staff, even though it has not yet been officially confirmed by ByteDance or TikTok.

What does that mean for TikTok?

Well, it remains active in the US, where the platform has 170 million users.

That’s the most important win for the app, although the bigger question many will have now is what influence the Trump administration could have on TikTok’s algorithms and what content people see on the app.

One of the main sticking points of the deal has long been TikTok’s algorithm, and whether a deal would involve the sale of the algorithm code to a US entity.

According to Chew’s announcement, the new US TikTok entity will be responsible for “retraining” the algorithm based on US user data: “to ensure that the content feed is free from outside manipulation.”

Which also means that this group will have the power to weigh things as it sees fit, and the Trump team will have a say in that. who exactly will sit on the group’s boardwhich could further tilt TikTok’s systems toward Trump-supporting content and perspectives.

One concern here is that TikTok will eventually become more like X, where right-wing conspiracy theories exist much more wiggle room allowed.

X owner Elon Musk is perhaps the greatest amplifier of politically motivated disinformation, and he has repeatedly used his influence over

At first glance, one might assume that TikTok has less political clout than X, given X’s focus on real-time news discussion. But TikTok has seen a rapid emergence as a new source of latewith more Americans now getting news content on TikTok than those who do from X, according to recent Pew Research Center data.

TikTok’s role as a news source could be a valuable consideration in the new deal and could open the door to amplifying politically motivated news stories to better reach younger voters.

Oracle in particular is led by Larry Ellison, a long-time Trump supporter, and it is specifically Oracle that will oversee the US TikTok algorithm.

Given TikTok’s success, you’d assume the group would mostly want to keep things running as they are, but perhaps we could see some influence creep in around election time that could change the TikTok feed.

That’s just one consideration about how the new US TikTok entity will function, and whether there will be any major changes to the app as a result of this new management group.

Again, you would assume that ‘business as usual’ would be the main focus, to maximize the potential of the platform. But we will have to wait and see how the dust settles and how much influence and control the American group seems to exert over the platform’s activities.

So perhaps, after a year of wrangling, TikTok has finally secured its future in the US, providing certainty for many creators on the app.

We’re waiting for official confirmation, but Trump may not have to issue a new executive order to keep the app operational.