TikTok Signs Agreements With Investors in Step Toward Avoiding a U.S. Ban

TikTok signed agreements with three major new investors to help form an American version of TikTok, bringing it one step closer to completing a deal to keep the app operating in the United States. The agreements do not mean that a deal for an American version of TikTok is done, as these investors would form only 45 percent of the new ownership. It’s not clear where the rest of the deal stands. TikTok CEO Shou Chew said TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, had signed binding agreements with the software giant Oracle; Silver Lake, an investment company; and MGX, an Emirati investment firm. Those three and other investors would run a new version of the popular short-form video app. The deal is an attempt to comply with a federal law that requires TikTok to reduce its Chinese ownership or face a ban in the United States. It was passed in 2024 out of concern that Beijing could use the app to gain access to Americans’ sensitive data or to spread propaganda. President Trump has repeatedly delayed enforcement of the ban.