What you need to know
- It’s been announced that ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has reached an agreement with the U.S. Government to keep its services online for users.
- This agreement facilitates the creation of the TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, which will oversee U.S. operations, algorithm, user data, and more moving forward.
- However, there’s still much to uncover, as U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey sounds the alarm over the deal’s “lack of transparency.”
It’s been a long road for TikTok and its potential U.S. ban; however, the app and the U.S. government have reportedly reached an agreement about its future.
Reported by CNN earlier this morning (Jan 23) that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, and the U.S. Government have agreed on a “Joint Venture.” TikTok went into detaila bout this agreement itself, announcing the TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. According to the company, this Joint Venture is primarily owned by the United States, meaning operations for TikTok U.S. (data, algorithm security, etc.) are in America’s hands.
TikTok says this Joint Venture’s “mandate” is to “secure U.S. user data, apps, and the algorithm through comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity measures.”
“National Security” is a major part of this, and it has been centered in the spotlight throughout this saga. TikTok states that Oracle’s cloud environment will secure U.S. user data moving forward. The Joint Venture will also take another look at the app’s algorithm, with the post stating retraining, testing, and updates are in the cards. Software assurance is another key point; however, the Joint Venture claims it will “safeguard the U.S. content ecosystem and have decision-making authority for trust and safety policies and content moderation.”
The post adds that interoperability will bring TikTok U.S. toward a “global experience.” It states that this Joint Venture will ensure that “U.S. creators can be discovered and businesses can operate on a global scale.” With that, it sounds like business as usual for TikTok users. CNN cites comments made by President Trump following the deal’s closure, where he expressed gratitude to Chinese President Xi Jinping for “working with us and, ultimately, approving the deal.”
While a deal has been reached, facilitating the TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey is sounding the alarm. Per an official statement, Markey says the U.S., TikTok deal “raises many more questions than answers.”
The senator adds, “Despite my repeated requests for information, the White House has provided virtually no details about this agreement, including whether TikTok’s algorithm is truly free of Chinese influence. This lack of transparency reeks.” Markey is also urging Congress to launch an investigation into the specifics of the U.S., TikTok deal to understand its intricacies and to bring about better transparency.
TikTok’s U.S. existence was topsy-turvy, but now it’s here
TikTok users will remember when the app went dark early last year. ByteDance informed users that TikTok went down on January 19, 2025 after a U.S. law went into effect to ban its services in the United States. TikTok started displaying messages to users about its services closing due to this law, but (at the time) President-elect Donald Trump stated that discussion might come into play.
Shortly after, work was already being done to return TikTok’s services. The company said, “In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service.” TikTok came back online, and went on to avoid a complete U.S. ban a few more times.
We may still be early on in this deal. For now, it seems that life on TikTok will continue as usual for U.S. users.
