On January 22, 2026, Tiktok leader Xi Jinping finalized a deal to create a new American platform. This new entity avoids the looming threat of a ban that has been in discussion for years. TikTok usage is spread across America with more than 200 million users. This deal helps ease the worry that Americans had with the ban threats, like the short-lived ban early last year.
For years, leaders from both political parties and U.S. officials have warned that TikTok could be a threat to national security, according to CBS. They argued that the Chinese government could use the app to spy on Americans, gather large amounts of personal data, and influence public opinion.
In 2024, during a court case about the law, the Justice Department said Oracle, a major American multinational technology company, would not be able to properly monitor TikTok’s data and algorithm to solve these security concerns, according to CBS. TikTok proposed a plan called Project Texas, which would store U.S. user data on Oracle’s cloud and allow outside audits of its algorithm. Nevertheless, the U.S. government and its lawmakers rejected the plan as insufficient.
The law, which was unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court, made it unlawful for app stores to offer updates or new downloads after January 19, 2025. However, during the last year, Trump had issued executive orders every few months to not penalize the tech companies who host TikTok, according to CBS.
The social video platform company signed agreements with major investors, including Silver Lake, Oracle, and the Emirati investment firm MGX, to form the new Tiktok U.S. joint venture. The company says that the new version will operate under “defined safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurances for U.S. users” according to AP.
The board overseeing the new company will be made up of representatives from several investors, along with TikTok’s current CEO, Shou Chew. The CEO of the U.S.-based operation will be Adam Presser, who has been employed by Tiktok since 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile.
This new deal has been highly praised by President Donald Trump in a Truth Social post, in which he thanks Jinping specifically “for working with us and, ultimately, approving the deal”, according to AP. China and the U.S. both signed off on the deal to sell the app’s American operations.
