What Happened to TikTok US Ban?

The saga of the TikTok US ban began in earnest in 2020 under the Trump administration, which first raised national security concerns, alleging that the app's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, could be compelled by the Chinese government to hand over sensitive U.S. user data or influence content. An executive order in August 2020 attempted to ban the app, but it was blocked by court injunctions.

Concerns persisted and intensified, leading to the Biden administration signing the No TikTok on Government Devices Act in December 2022, prohibiting the app on federal devices. In March 2023, the Department of Justice and FBI launched an investigation into TikTok, including allegations of spying on American journalists. The pivotal moment arrived in April 2024 with the bipartisan passage and signing of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) by President Joe Biden. This law mandated ByteDance to divest TikTok's U.S. operations by January 19, 2025, or face a nationwide ban.

TikTok mounted a legal challenge, arguing the law violated First Amendment rights. However, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld PAFACA on January 17, 2025, affirming the government's national security interests. On January 18, 2025, TikTok voluntarily suspended its services in the U.S. for several hours, the day before the ban was set to take full effect. However, President-elect Donald Trump, upon his inauguration on January 20, 2025, issued an executive order halting enforcement of the ban for 75 days, signaling a preference for a sale over an outright ban. Throughout 2025, Trump issued multiple executive orders, extending the deadline for divestment, most recently until January 23, 2026.

During this period, TikTok had previously attempted to address concerns through 'Project Texas,' a $1.5 billion initiative to store U.S. user data on Oracle's cloud infrastructure and allow third-party auditing of its algorithm. However, this plan was deemed inadequate by the U.S. government and lawmakers. Ultimately, in December 2025, TikTok signed agreements to form a new U.S. joint venture with American-led investors. The deal was finalized on January 22, 2026, establishing TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. This new entity is majority-owned by U.S.-based investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, holding a combined 45%, with other investors like Dell CEO Michael Dell's office owning 35%. ByteDance retains a 19.9% stake. The new structure aims to operate under safeguards protecting national security through comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, and content moderation for U.S. users, with the algorithm to be retrained exclusively on U.S. user data. As of February 27, 2026, a lawsuit challenging Montana's state-level TikTok ban was dismissed in federal court, rendered moot by the finalized ownership transfer.