TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, has signed binding agreements with three major investors to form a joint venture to operate TikTok’s US app, reports Reuters. The venture is to be led by American and global investors in a bid to avoid a US government ban.
The deal is a milestone for the short video app used regularly by more than 170 million Americans after years of battles that began in August 2020, when US President Donald Trump first tried unsuccessfully to ban the app.
The details of the deal are in line with one unveiled in September, when Trump delayed until January 20 enforcement of the law that bans the app unless its Chinese owners sell it amid efforts to extract TikTok’s US assets from the global platform. He also declared that the deal met the terms of the divestiture requirements required by a 2024 law.