What Does an Americanized TikTok Mean for Brands and Creators?

"TikTok is officially here to stay in the US, under new ownership. On the evening of January 22, the platform announced that a joint venture has officially been established in compliance with the Executive Order signed by President Donald Trump on September 25, 2025, according to the company. The news came one day before Trump's deadline for the transfer of ownership from Chinese company Bytedance to a group of US investors."

"This new venture means that TikTok in the US will be spun off from the global TikTok platform, which will remain owned by Bytedance. TikTok US will be operated by three managing investors - Silver Lake, Oracle and MGX - each holding 15%, alongside a host of other investors. Bytedance retains 19.9% of the joint venture. The establishment of the US entity comes after a years-long seesaw that saw TikTok's US operations debated, threatened, advanced, and briefly paused last January."

"For brands and creators, the news ought to result in sighs of relief, after years of administrative flip-flopping, leaving their platform-based followings at the whims of officials and shifting regulation. But creators have grown weary of the back and forth, with many convinced well before the news that TikTok would remain available in the US, one way or another. Users in the US have also expressed concern over whether or not their TikTok algorithms will change under new ownership,"

On January 22 a majority-American joint venture was established to operate TikTok in the US, complying with an Executive Order signed September 25, 2025. The US platform will be spun off from global TikTok, which remains owned by Bytedance. Managing investors Silver Lake, Oracle and MGX each hold 15%, other investors hold stakes, and Bytedance retains 19.9%. The joint venture will operate under safeguards for national security, including data protections, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurances. Brands and creators gain stability, while creators and users remain concerned about potential algorithm changes that could alter content distribution.

Read at Vogue