Bloomberg Intelligence Media Litigation Analyst Matthew Schettenhelm discusses the latest in the ongoing TikTok saga. TikTok and its Chinese parent ByteDance Ltd. have closed a long-awaited deal to transfer parts of their US operations to American investors, securing the popular video app’s future in the US and avoiding a nationwide ban.
The social media company has officially established a US entity with three managing investors: Oracle Corp., private equity firm Silver Lake Management LLC and Abu Dhabi-based investment company MGX. TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Chew — who will continue running ByteDance’s most valuable asset globally — gets a seat on the board. Adam Presser, who was TikTok’s head of operations, trust and safety, will now helm the American venture as CEO.
A TikTok sale concludes a yearslong geopolitical and regulatory tug-of-war that, for half a decade, has threatened to shut down TikTok in the US over national security concerns. Congress originally passed legislation in 2024 to ban the app unless ByteDance sold TikTok – citing concerns that the Chinese government could abuse US user data or use the app to push narratives preferred by Beijing. TikTok has maintained neither has happened.
US President Donald Trump cheered the saga’s conclusion in a Truth Social post, where he again credited the social media phenom for helping him win the 2024 election. And he thanked his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for approving the deal. “He could have gone the other way, but didn’t, and is appreciated for his decision,” Trump wrote.
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