Social media platform TikTok announced Friday that it has finalized the formation of a majority-American-owned joint venture to run its U.S. operations. This is a move aimed at circumventing a long-threatened ban related to Chinese ownership. The new organization, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, will serve more than 200 million U.S. users and approximately 7.5 million businesses and operate with enhanced safeguards around data protection, cybersecurity, content moderation, and app recommendation algorithms.Under the agreement, U.S. and international investors will own 80.1% of the joint venture, with TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance holding a 19.9% ​​stake. Major investors include Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment group MGX, each with a 15% stake. Other holdings are held by companies such as Dell Family Office, Alpha Wave Partners, Revolution, and NJJ Capital.The deal follows years of political and regulatory pressure in Washington, starting with President Donald Trump’s efforts to block the app on national security grounds in 2020. Most recently, legislation passed under former President Joe Biden required ByteDance to sell its U.S. operations or face a ban in TikTok’s biggest market.TikTok said the joint venture will operate as an independent company overseen by a seven-member board of directors, with a majority of American directors. Adam Presser has been named chief executive officer of TikTok’s U.S. operations and will be responsible for protecting U.S. user data while driving growth across TikTok and related apps.