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TikTok US Operations Under New Ownership to Address Security Concerns

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2 unique sources, 2 articles

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A consortium of US technology companies, venture capital firms, and private equity investors, including Oracle, has finalized a deal to acquire around 80% of TikTok's US operations. This deal aims to address data privacy and security concerns by creating a new US-based entity with a majority US board. The move follows regulatory pressures and a temporary ban on TikTok in the US. Despite these changes, cybersecurity experts caution that significant risks remain, particularly around data collection, social engineering, and algorithm transparency. The approved framework agreement involves Oracle and other American investors managing TikTok's operations and algorithm. The new entity will fully control algorithms, code, and content moderation, with US user data stored in an American-run cloud environment. Security partners will monitor software, algorithms, and data flows, and ByteDance will be excluded from the company’s security committee. TikTok's algorithms and content recommendation models will be retrained using only US-approved data, ensuring no foreign influence. The deal is part of a broader effort to mitigate risks associated with TikTok's data handling practices and its obligations to the Chinese government. Concerns over these issues have led to regulatory actions in the US and other countries, including fines and bans on government devices.

Timeline

  1. 18.09.2025 23:28 2 articles · 11d ago

    TikTok US Operations to Be Acquired by US Consortium

    The US President signed an executive order approving the plan to restructure TikTok operations in the US. The new US-based joint venture will run TikTok in the United States, covering Lemon8, CapCut, and related apps/websites. The entity will be majority-owned and controlled by US persons, with ByteDance owning less than 20% of the new entity. US entities will fully control algorithms, code, and content moderation. US user data must be stored in an American-run cloud environment. Security partners will monitor software, algorithms, and data flows. ByteDance will be excluded from the company’s security committee. Oracle will take an expanded and more formalized role in managing TikTok's operations and algorithm. TikTok's algorithms and content recommendation models will be retrained using only US-approved data. Users in the US will transition to a new app replicating the original algorithm based on US user data.

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