(WDNews) – TikTok announced Thursday that it has officially launched TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, a new, majority American-owned company created to meet federal security requirements set by an executive order signed by Donald Trump in September 2025.
The move allows TikTok to continue operating in the U.S., serving more than 200 million American users and about 7.5 million businesses. The new joint venture is designed to protect U.S. national security while keeping the platform available to creators and advertisers.
Under the new structure, U.S. user data will be stored and protected in Oracle’s secure U.S.-based cloud. The company says all data handling and cybersecurity programs will be independently audited and certified under major federal and international security standards.
The joint venture will also control TikTok’s recommendation algorithm for U.S. users. The algorithm will be retrained, tested, and operated using U.S. data only, and secured within Oracle’s U.S. infrastructure. Source code reviews and software security checks will be conducted on an ongoing basis.
Trust and safety decisions, including content moderation policies for U.S. users, will now be handled by the new venture. TikTok said the structure adds transparency and accountability through third-party oversight and regular reporting.
TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will operate independently, overseen by a seven-member board with a majority of American directors. Adam Presser was named CEO, with Will Farrell appointed chief security officer.
Ownership of the venture is shared among several U.S.-based investors. ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, retains a 19.9% minority stake. The safeguards will also apply to other TikTok-owned apps used in the U.S., including CapCut and Lemon8.
The company says the new structure is intended to ensure TikTok can continue operating in the U.S. while addressing long-standing government concerns about data security and foreign influence.
