New York. TikTok has finalized a deal to create a new American entity, averting a long-looming threat of a ban in the United States that has hovered over the platform for years. The app is now used by more than 200 million Americans.

The social video company signed agreements with major investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and Emirati investment firm MGX to form a new TikTok US joint venture. The new entity will operate under “defined safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurances for US users,” the company said in a statement Thursday. American users will continue using the same app.

President Donald Trump praised the deal in a post on Truth Social, thanking Chinese leader Xi Jinping “for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal.” Trump added that he hopes “that long into the future I will be remembered by those who use and love TikTok.”

Adam Presser, who previously served as TikTok’s head of operations and trust and safety, will lead the new venture as CEO. He will work alongside a seven-member, majority-American board of directors that includes TikTok CEO Shou Chew.

The agreement ends years of uncertainty over the fate of the popular video-sharing platform in the United States. After overwhelming bipartisan majorities in Congress passed — and President Joe Biden signed — a law requiring TikTok to find a new owner or face a ban, the app was set to go dark by a January 2025 deadline. It briefly did so for several hours. On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order allowing the app to continue operating while his administration sought a deal.

“China’s position on TikTok has been consistent and clear,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Friday in Beijing, referring to the deal and Trump’s comments, echoing an earlier statement from the Chinese Embassy in Washington.

Beyond data protection measures — including storing US user data locally in a system operated by Oracle — the joint venture will also focus on TikTok’s algorithm. The content recommendation system will be retrained, tested and updated using US user data, the company said.

The algorithm has been a central issue in the security debate over TikTok. China previously maintained that the algorithm must remain under Chinese control by law. However, the US legislation stipulated that any divestment must sever ties — particularly involving the algorithm — with ByteDance. Under the terms of the deal, ByteDance will license the algorithm to the US entity for retraining.

The law prohibits “any cooperation with respect to the operation of a content recommendation algorithm” between ByteDance and a new American ownership group, raising questions about how ByteDance’s continued involvement will be interpreted.

“Who controls TikTok in the US has a lot of sway over what Americans see on the app,” said Anupam Chander, a professor of law and technology at Georgetown University.

Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX are the three managing investors, each holding a 15% stake. Other investors include the investment firm of Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies. ByteDance will retain a 19.9% stake in the joint venture.

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