TikTok confirmed Thursday that it has finalized an ownership restructuring establishing a majority American-owned entity with American-led content moderation systems designed to reflect US values and standards. The agreement addresses concerns about foreign influence over content policies and enforcement decisions.
ByteDance, the Beijing-based technology company behind TikTok, has agreed to reduce its ownership stake to 19.9% in the American entity, while US investors control 80.1%. The American ownership group includes three major stakeholders with equal 15% shares: Oracle, led by billionaire Larry Ellison; Silver Lake, a leading technology-focused private equity firm; and MGX, an investment fund from Abu Dhabi. Michael Dell’s investment firm also contributes.
The deal addresses bipartisan legislation enacted in 2024 that effectively banned TikTok unless it separated from Chinese ownership, with concern extending beyond data security to include content governance and moderation decisions. Lawmakers worried that foreign control could influence what content gets promoted, demoted, or removed from American users’ feeds. The Supreme Court upheld the legislation in January 2025.
Leadership of the American entity will fall to Adam Presser as CEO, with his background in trust and safety positioning him to oversee content moderation systems. His previous role as global head of operations, trust and safety gives him direct experience with content policy development and enforcement. The entity will be governed by a seven-member board of directors, intentionally structured with an American majority and populated by cybersecurity and national security experts. Shou Chew will participate as a board member.
The new US entity commits to implementing comprehensive safeguards including advanced data protection protocols, secured algorithms, and enhanced content moderation systems that will operate under American leadership with policies reflecting US standards. The platform’s recommendation algorithm will undergo complete retraining using exclusively US user data, influencing not just technical performance but content prioritization decisions. Software integrity assurances provide additional protection. Both US and Chinese government officials have approved the arrangement, with President Trump expressing gratitude to Chinese President Xi Jinping for facilitating the deal.