TikTok confirmed Thursday that it has finalized an ownership restructuring establishing a majority American-owned entity with a governance structure specifically designed to include cybersecurity and national security experts. The agreement emphasizes qualified oversight for security-critical operations.
ByteDance, the Beijing-based technology company behind TikTok, has agreed to reduce its ownership stake to 19.9% in the American entity, while US investors control 80.1%. Oracle at 15%, Silver Lake at 15%, and MGX at 15%, along with Michael Dell’s firm, create the ownership foundation supporting expert governance.
The deal addresses congressional legislation and presidential executive orders that specifically called for governance by individuals with cybersecurity and national security expertise. This requirement recognizes that effective oversight of security measures requires technical knowledge—board members must understand data encryption, network security, algorithm verification, and threat assessment to meaningfully evaluate whether protections actually work. Generic business oversight wouldn’t suffice for security-critical platform governance.
Leadership of the American entity falls to Adam Presser as CEO, with oversight from a seven-member board of directors deliberately composed of cybersecurity and national security experts as legislation specified. These experts bring qualifications to evaluate whether data protection actually prevents unauthorized access, whether algorithm security truly ensures independence, whether content moderation adequately addresses threats, and whether software integrity measures reliably detect compromise. Shou Chew participates as a board member within this expert oversight structure.
The new US entity benefits from expert governance evaluating security measures: cybersecurity experts assess data protection protocols and software integrity, national security professionals evaluate foreign influence risks and algorithmic manipulation potential, and their combined expertise ensures comprehensive security oversight. The recommendation algorithm undergoes expert-reviewed retraining and testing. Both governments approved this expert governance structure.