WASHINGTON, D.C.: After years of political brinkmanship and legal uncertainty, TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance has signed binding agreements to place control of the app's U.S. operations into a new joint venture dominated by American and global investors, a move aimed at heading off a potential U.S. ban.

The agreement represents a significant step toward resolving a standoff that dates back to August 2020, when U.S. President Donald Trump first attempted to ban the short-video app over national security concerns. TikTok is used regularly by more than 170 million Americans.

The structure of the deal mirrors terms outlined in September, when Trump delayed enforcement of a law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok's U.S. operations or face a ban. He said at the time the proposal met divestiture requirements under a 2024 law designed to sever TikTok's U.S. assets from its Chinese parent.

Under the agreement, American and global investors — including Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX — will hold an 80.1 percent stake in the new entity, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. ByteDance will retain 19.9 percent.

Vice President JD Vance said in September the new U.S. company would be valued at about US$14 billion, below analysts' expectations. The final valuation was not disclosed on Thursday. The transaction is expected to close on January 22.

While the White House said in September the joint venture would operate TikTok's U.S. app, questions remain about the relationship between the new entity and ByteDance. The White House referred questions to TikTok.

In a memo to employees, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the joint venture would "operate as an independent entity with authority over U.S. data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance."

Chew added that TikTok Global's U.S. entities "will manage global product interoperability and certain commercial activities, including e-commerce, advertising, and marketing" separately from the joint venture.

Rush Doshi, a former National Security Council official under President Joe Biden, said it was unclear whether TikTok's algorithm had been transferred, licensed, or remained under Beijing's control, with Oracle providing only "monitoring.

Chinese media previously reported that ByteDance would continue to play a significant operational role. A Chinese financial magazine reported that ByteDance planned to create a U.S. TikTok entity that would receive revenue from the joint venture.

The agreement includes the appointment of one of seven board members by ByteDance, with Americans holding the remaining seats.

Oracle will serve as the "trusted security partner" and oversee compliance, including "safeguarding sensitive U.S. user data, which will be stored in a trusted and secure cloud environment in the United States run by Oracle," TikTok said.

Trump has credited TikTok with helping him win reelection and has more than 15 million followers on the platform. The White House launched its own TikTok account in August.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said key issues remain unresolved.

"Trump wants to hand over even more control of what you watch to his billionaire buddies. Americans deserve to know if the president struck another backdoor deal for this billionaire takeover of TikTok," she said on X.

Trump said in September that Michael Dell, Rupert Murdoch, and other investors could be involved, though it remains unclear who ultimately participated.