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TikTok announced on Thursday that a deal has been finalised between the US and China that hands control of its US operations to a group of investors backed by President Donald Trump.
The deal comes after years-long tussle between the two countries that began in Trump's first term in the White House when he tried to ban the app over national security concerns.
Under the new agreement, a new business called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will secure US user data, apps and algorithms through data privacy and cybersecurity measures.
Moreover, TikTok's successful algorithm will be retrained on US user data only, which will be protected to meet American regulations.
The platform was due to be banned in the US in January 2025 if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, failed to sell its US operations to American investors.
Last September, Trump announced that he had reached a deal with China to keep the app running in the US.
Following that, in December, binding agreements were signed with American and global investors to operate TikTok's business in the US.
New TikTok owner in the US:
TikTok says the new joint venture will operate as an independent entity governed by a seven-member board of directors.
Adam Presser, formerly of WarnerMedia, was appointed as the chief executive of the joint venture.
There are three managing investors of TikTok's US operations, each holding a 15 per cent stake, including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX.
Notably, TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, will retain a 19.9% stake.
