https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/The United States spent more than five years trying to separate TikTok's US business from its China-based owner ByteDance, through 2020 executive orders that courts blocked and a 2024 law that the Supreme Court upheld in January 2025. After a brief shutdown and a series of enforcement delays by executive order, a majority American-owned joint venture took over TikTok's US operations in January 2026, with ByteDance keeping a 19.9 percent stake. Lawmakers and a lawsuit have questioned whether the arrangement meets the 2024 law.enhttps://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e36tiktok-us-divestiture-3e7fe4939aThu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Chairman Moolenaar told Bloomberg that TikTok pulled out on 27 August from the planned 15 September roundtable, citing child-safety litigation. TikTok did not respond to Bloomberg's requests for comment. The committee plans to invite chief executive Adam Presser again and hold another session before the end of the year, Bloomberg reported.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e35tiktok-us-divestiture-e244c2c726Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000Reuters reported that TikTok US chief security officer Will Farrell would testify before the House Select Committee on China on 15 September, the first time a TikTok US executive would testify publicly in the House since the deal.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e34tiktok-us-divestiture-ac56284043Thu, 05 Mar 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Public Integrity Project sued President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi in the DC Circuit for two retail investors, alleging the approval did not meet the 2024 law, Reuters and NBC News reported. The suit asks for a renegotiated deal, not a ban, according to Reuters.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e33tiktok-us-divestiture-5cd642d599Thu, 29 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000Asked whether China would let ByteDance grant the joint venture an algorithm licence, commerce spokesperson He Yongqian said China had already set out its principles and position, the Global Times reported.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e32tiktok-us-divestiture-40a3a80dd2Mon, 26 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000Oracle said a weather-related power outage at one of its data centres disrupted TikTok over the weekend. Governor Gavin Newsom's office opened a review of TikTok's content moderation, saying it had received reports of suppressed content, and the joint venture said the problems were technical, Reuters reported.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e30tiktok-us-divestiture-9ca617f654Thu, 22 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC was established with Adam Presser as chief executive and a seven-member, majority-American board, TikTok said on 22 January, AP reported. Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX hold 15 percent each and ByteDance 19.9 percent, the venture said. It said it will retrain the recommendation algorithm on US user data and secure it in Oracle's US cloud.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e31tiktok-us-divestiture-58df44d116Thu, 22 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources from September, that a separate division wholly owned by ByteDance would control revenue-generating operations. ABC News reported that the ByteDance-controlled TikTok entity would still manage e-commerce, advertising and marketing. A White House official told Reuters both governments had signed off. The Chinese Embassy did not immediately comment.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e28tiktok-us-divestiture-b2f24adc16Mon, 01 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0000ByteDance and TikTok signed binding agreements with Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX to form TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, Reuters reported on 19 December, citing a memo from Shou Chew. New investors would hold 50 percent, affiliates of existing ByteDance investors 30.1 percent and ByteDance 19.9 percent.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e29tiktok-us-divestiture-f4f48891e8Mon, 01 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0000Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yongqian said China hoped companies would reach solutions that comply with Chinese law and balance interests, the state-run Global Times reported.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e27tiktok-us-divestiture-953f141dc5Thu, 30 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0000After President Trump met President Xi in South Korea, China's Ministry of Commerce said it would work with the US on TikTok but gave no details, AP reported. The meeting produced no announced TikTok agreement.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e26tiktok-us-divestiture-62ee9db30dWed, 01 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0000Representative John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on China, said a licensing arrangement for the algorithm, which White House officials had said would be part of the deal, would raise serious concerns, Reuters reported.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e25tiktok-us-divestiture-cd79c22cddThu, 25 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0000Executive Order 14352 approved a joint venture majority-owned by US persons, with ByteDance and its affiliates below 20 percent, and recommendation models retrained and monitored by trusted US security partners. It delayed enforcement 120 days. Vice President JD Vance put the US company's value at about $14 billion, Reuters reported.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e24tiktok-us-divestiture-0b0f2fbb96Sat, 20 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0000After a call between President Trump and President Xi Jinping on 19 September, China's Ministry of Commerce said it welcomed commercial negotiations in line with market rules, Reuters reported.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e23tiktok-us-divestiture-62078122d6Tue, 16 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0000Executive Order 14350 extended the enforcement delay to 16 December 2025 and told the Attorney General to defend the executive's exclusive enforcement authority.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e22tiktok-us-divestiture-8b3dcaf79eMon, 15 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0000After US-China trade talks in Madrid, Chinese trade representative Li Chenggang said the sides reached a basic framework consensus on TikTok, AP reported. Chinese cyberspace official Wang Jingtao said they agreed to authorise use of intellectual property such as the algorithm and to have a partner handle US user data.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e21tiktok-us-divestiture-ceccf04cceThu, 19 Jun 2025 12:00:00 +0000Executive Order 14310 extended the enforcement delay to 17 September 2025.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e20tiktok-us-divestiture-10784058e7Wed, 09 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0000A Chinese ministry spokesperson said any TikTok deal must go through Chinese government review and said China opposes forced business moves, Reuters reported.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e19tiktok-us-divestiture-6112e765c7Fri, 04 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0000Executive Order 14258 extended the enforcement delay to 19 June. Several news agencies reported that Beijing froze talks after new US tariffs, Al Jazeera said, and ByteDance said key matters were unresolved.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e18tiktok-us-divestiture-7ced462b42Mon, 20 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0000On his first day back in office President Trump signed Executive Order 14166, directing the Attorney General not to enforce the law for 75 days and not to penalise conduct during that period.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e17tiktok-us-divestiture-4d4b769774Sun, 19 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0000TikTok said it was restoring service after President-elect Trump said he would sign an order giving ByteDance more time, AP reported. The app remained unavailable in Apple's App Store.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e16tiktok-us-divestiture-f7a25ac508Sat, 18 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0000TikTok stopped working for US users late on Saturday, hours before the law's 19 January deadline, and Apple and Google removed it from their app stores to comply with the law, AP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e15tiktok-us-divestiture-c32d0bc267Fri, 17 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0000In an unsigned opinion with no dissent, the Supreme Court held the law does not violate the petitioners' First Amendment rights. Justices Sotomayor and Gorsuch wrote separate concurrences.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e14tiktok-us-divestiture-6e0162aafbFri, 10 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0000The Supreme Court heard argument in TikTok Inc. v. Garland nine days before the statutory deadline.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e13tiktok-us-divestiture-4d9c729927Mon, 16 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000TikTok and ByteDance applied to the Supreme Court for an injunction pending review. The Court treated the application as a petition and granted review on 18 December.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e12tiktok-us-divestiture-5ce7599120Fri, 06 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000A DC Circuit panel of Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, Judge Neomi Rao and Senior Judge Douglas Ginsburg rejected the First Amendment, equal protection, bill of attainder and takings claims and denied the petitions. Judge Ginsburg wrote the opinion and Chief Judge Srinivasan concurred in part.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e11tiktok-us-divestiture-d571983265Tue, 07 May 2024 12:00:00 +0000TikTok and ByteDance filed a petition in the DC Circuit, which the law gives exclusive jurisdiction, arguing the law violates the First Amendment and that a sale was not possible commercially, technologically or legally, The Washington Post reported.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e10tiktok-us-divestiture-bdc3264909Wed, 24 Apr 2024 12:00:00 +0000President Biden signed the package. The law gave ByteDance until 19 January 2025 to sell TikTok's US business, with one possible 90-day extension, or app stores and hosting providers would have to stop supporting the app. TikTok chief executive Shou Chew said the company would challenge it in court.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e9tiktok-us-divestiture-4db68e1e3cTue, 23 Apr 2024 12:00:00 +0000The Senate voted 79 to 18 to approve H.R. 815, a foreign aid package that included the TikTok measure, according to the Senate roll call and CNBC.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e8tiktok-us-divestiture-1f8ad0ad0aWed, 13 Mar 2024 12:00:00 +0000The House passed H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, by 352 votes to 65, according to the House Clerk.https://howitunfolded.com/incidents/tiktok-us-divestiture/#e7tiktok-us-divestiture-080a9150b1Mon, 01 Aug 2022 12:00:00 +0000From 2021 to 2022 TikTok sent several drafts of a proposed National Security Agreement with Oracle as a trusted technology provider. Its last proposal came in August 2022, according to the DC Circuit.