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Who Owns TikTok Now and How Could It Change for US Users?
Since TikTok's U.S. spin-off, users report censorship of anti-Trump content amid a data center outage affecting uploads, while competitor UpScrolled gains 14,000 daily downloads, Appfigures data shows.
- On Jan. 22, 2026, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC was established as a majority-U.S.-owned entity with ByteDance retaining less than 20%, and on January 23, 2026, U.S.-based TikTok users saw a mandatory Terms of Service pop-up requiring `Agree` to continue using the app.
- Driven by U.S. national security concerns, an executive order signed in September 2025 established the divest-or-ban framework requiring majority American ownership, brokered to spin out U.S. operations into a U.S.-majority entity.
- Under the refreshed privacy policy, TikTok privacy policy admits it may collect precise geolocation data unless users opt out, scans user-generated content , and collects immigration status and other sensitive personal data.
- Under the new structure, U.S. user data will be stored on Oracle's secure cloud servers and audited by third parties, while a seven-member, majority-American board including TikTok CEO Shou Chew oversees algorithm retraining on U.S. data.
- Some creators have already reacted by deleting accounts, including a comedian with more than 278,000 followers, while DownDetector outage reports peaked at more than 35,000 and creators face unstable earnings under platform rewards program despite $1.3 million EMV shown by Kolsquare.
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Understanding TikTok's New Ownership: What Does It Mean For US Users?
Source: Radio One / General TikTok’s U.S. operations have undergone a major shift. No longer owned solely by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, TikTok in the United States is now run by a new entity, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, according to a press release. Established on Jan. 22, 2026, this joint venture is majority-owned by U.S. and allied investors, with ByteDance retaining less than 20% ownership. Major stakeholders include Oracle, Si…
·New York, United States
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Total News Sources69
Leaning Left11Leaning Right7Center20Last UpdatedBias Distribution53% Center
Bias Distribution
- 53% of the sources are Center
53% Center
L 29%
C 53%
R 18%
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