China’s ByteDance signs deal to form joint venture to operate TikTok US app

WASHINGTON: TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, said Thursday it signed binding agreements with three major investors to form a joint venture to operate TikTok’s U.S. app led by American and global investors in a ⁠bid to avoid a U.S. government ban, a significant step toward ending years of uncertainty.

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 President Donald Trump first tried unsuccessfully to ban the app.