TikTok has ended the ongoing saga over its fate in the US by signing a deal to sell its stateside business to three American investors, guaranteeing the popular-with-kids platform’s continued existence there.

Roughly 60% of 13- to 17-year-olds in the US use TikTok, according to a Pew Research report from 2024. And in January, UC San Francisco reported that most 11- to 12-year-olds in the US use TikTok, even though the platform’s minimum age requirement is 13.

This deal saves the platform from a threatened ban in the US that has been looming for years, and that would have sent all those kids looking for new places to find entertainment, social media connection and touchpoints to brands. The industry got a taste of what this exodus to other platforms could look like when TikTok briefly went dark in January. Competing platforms, like Zigazoo Kids, saw a surge in users, and creators were reminded that they need to be on multiple platforms at the risk of losing their audience.

The US had threatened to ban the platform over concerns that TikTok was owned by Chinese company ByteDance, and that China could use the platform to spy on or influence Americans. Now the app will be subject to terms that “protect Americans’ data and US national security,” according to the agreement. The platform’s algorithm will be retrained on US data, and the joint-venture will handle content moderation and policies in the US.

So now creators don’t have to worry about TikTok shutting down—but there might be some new concerns raised by the ownership of this joint-venture.

A consortium of investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX will own half of the new TikTok US joint-venture after the deal closes, which is expected to happen on January 22. And those three companies will each hold a 15% stake in the business. ByteDance and the Chinese company’s investors will keep the rest, according to an internal memo from Bytedance CEO Shou Zi.

Billionaire Larry Ellison co-founded Oracle, and his company provided his son David Ellison with the capital that funded the Paramount Global and Skydance Media merger. David Ellison is now trying—so far unsuccesfully—to buy Warner Bros. Discovery through a hostile bid to shareholders.

Netflix is WBD’s buyer of coice, but if Paramount Skydance did manage to purchase the storied studio, the Ellisons would certainly have something of a media empire in the US, with TikTok, Paramount Global and WBD basically all controlled by one family.

Meanwhile, TikTok held its first-ever TikTok Awards US event last night as part of a mission to become a cultural institution and to spotlight its creators. A few that won are a big deal in kid culture, including Paris Hilton (11.8 million followers). The creator of animated series Paris & Pups (produced by 9 Story Media Group, HappyNest Entertainment and her 11:11 Media studio) won Muse of the Year—an award given to someone who inspires others. Her TikTok page’s videos include clips from the kids show.

The Valentine Brothers (eight million followers) won the TikTok for Good Award with videos focused on the relationship between two brothers, one of whom has Down syndrome. And Elizabeth Esparza (13.3 million followers) won TikTok LIVE Creator of the Year on the strength of comedic videos with her family. The full list of winners is available on TikTok’s website.

Image courtesy of Nik via Unsplash