TikTok is a short-form video platform. The Supreme Court, describing it in January 2025, wrote that “since its launch in 2017, the platform has accumulated over 170 million users in the United States and more than one billion worldwide,” and that in 2023 U.S. users uploaded more than 5.5 billion videos, viewed more than 13 trillion times worldwide.
The recommendation feed
Opening the app brings a user to the “For You” page, a personalized feed generated by a proprietary algorithm that tailors recommendations to each interaction — watching a video, following an account, leaving a comment. The feed is also shaped by moderation: TikTok uses automated and human review to remove content violating its community guidelines, and promotes or demotes content to advance business and other objectives.
Ownership and the U.S. divestiture
TikTok Inc. is incorporated and headquartered in California. Its ultimate parent was ByteDance Ltd., a privately held company with operations in China, which owned and maintained the recommendation algorithm. That structure was the subject of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which the Supreme Court upheld against a First Amendment challenge on January 17, 2025, and of U.S. government action running back to Executive Order 13942 in August 2020.
The U.S. operation was subsequently separated into TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. Silver Lake, Oracle and MGX are managing investors holding 15 percent each, alongside a group of additional investors; ByteDance retains 19.9 percent. Oracle is the venture’s Trusted Security Partner: U.S. user data and the content recommendation algorithm are held in Oracle’s U.S. cloud environment, and Oracle reviews and validates source code on an ongoing basis. The joint venture holds decision-making authority over trust and safety policies and content moderation.
Sources
- 01.
Supreme Court of the United States. TikTok Inc. v. Garland, 604 U.S. ___ (2025). (2025). Per curiam opinion of January 17, 2025. Source for the 2017 launch and scale — "Since its launch in 2017, the platform has accumulated over 170 million users in the United States and more than one billion worldwide" — the 2023 figures of 5.5 billion U.S. uploads viewed 13 trillion times, the description of the personalized "For You" page and proprietary recommendation algorithm, TikTok Inc.'s incorporation in California, ByteDance Ltd. as ultimate parent owning the algorithm, and the history of U.S. government action from Executive Order 13942 (August 2020) onward.
- 02.
TikTok. Announcement from the new TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. (2026). Source for the ownership structure of the U.S. joint venture — Silver Lake, Oracle and MGX as managing investors holding 15% each, ByteDance retaining 19.9% — Oracle's role as Trusted Security Partner hosting U.S. user data and the recommendation algorithm in its U.S. cloud and validating source code, and the joint venture's decision-making authority over trust and safety policies and content moderation.