As of January 22, 2026, ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, has reached a deal to establish an American majority-owned joint venture. The agreement creates a new U.S. based entity responsible for TikTok’s operations, data storage and content management within the United States, in order to comply with federal legislation requiring foreign divestment. While the venture still operates independently from ByteDance’s Beijing headquarters, it is now subject to U.S. regulatory oversight.
For years, U.S. lawmakers have raised national security concerns about TikTok, due to ByteDance being Chinese-owned. Many worried that the Chinese government could access U.S. user data. In 2024, a bill to ban or sell TikTok was passed and signed by President Biden. The law went into effect in January 2025, but President Trump intervened upon taking office, using executive orders to delay the enforcement of the ban.
“I remember being pretty annoyed that day. It was confusing. They had this idea of a ban, and they just decided to not shut it down. People were freaking out and using alternative platforms,” sophomore Hailey Velez said.
American investors, Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, held an 80.1% stake in the venture, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. ByteDance held around 19.9% which is the legal maximum. TikTok will remain available to the American public, with no planned shutdown. Under the deal, however, TikTok’s algorithm will be “retrained” using data from American users. Access to global content will remain, but the ranking of it will change in comparison to American content.
Staff and students at New Hyde Park Memorial High School have their opinions regarding the future of TikTok.
“I’m glad they figured out a solution to this whole TikTok situation. I just want to be able to watch, like and post videos without worrying, or having people tell me my information is getting tracked,” junior Fatima Ramos-Quintanilla said.
“I’m disappointed because a lot of my interests are global. It is useful to know more about American events, but a lot of the pop-culture I like isn’t American. I’m worried how the new algorithm will affect that,” sophomore Zhixuan Wu said.
“This event will not only politically and socially affect our nation, but it will also have lots of real-time financial impacts. We will have to just wait and see how these circumstances will evolve,” business teacher Ms. Bostrom said.
For students and staff at New Hyde Park Memorial High School, the changes to TikTok are not just a national issue but something that affects daily routines, interests and online spaces. While the app will remain available, questions about how content will be shaped and monitored moving forward still remain. As policies continue to shift and the platform adjusts under new oversight, TikTok’s role in students’ lives may change in ways that are not yet clear.
