December 18 (UPI) — TikTok’s owners have signed a deal to create a joint venture that will see the popular social media app majority-owned by U.S. investors, the company announced Thursday.
The Trump administration requires TikTok owner ByteDance, which is largely owned by a consortium of American companies, to continue operating in the United States.
According to NBC News, TikTok CEO Shou Chew announced the news to company employees.
Technology company Oracle, private equity fund Silver Lake and United Arab Emirates investment firm MGX are among the largest investors.
Oracle shares rose 5% in after-hours trading.
Nearly one-third of the joint venture will be owned by affiliates of ByteDance’s existing investors, with the other 20% retained by ByteDance, Axios reported.
As part of the deal, TikTok will be overseen by a new seven-member board, Chew said.
“The U.S. joint venture will be responsible for data protection, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurance in the U.S.,” Zhou said in the memo. “It will also have the exclusive rights and authority to keep U.S. users’ content, software and data secure.”
In September, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant and Chinese Prime Minister He Lifeng jointly developed a “framework” to clear the way for American investors to take control of the app in the United States.
Last year, members of Congress expressed concerns about China’s access to U.S. user data and privacy, particularly with an app that was popular among young Americans.
They claim that TikTok, through the app, poses a national security threat to the Chinese government and the United States.
