TikTok Is Now a U.S. Company: What This Means for Advertisers

Well, it finally happened. TikTok, now TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, became a majority-United States-owned company on January 23, 2026. After years of court battles and looming ban threats, TikTok now has a U.S. home, but its rocky start left the public questioning its viability.

What Happened?

Shortly after the deal closed, TikTok users were prompted to accept updated Terms & Conditions under the new corporate structure. Although the language had been in place since 2024, curious creators and publications began combing through the new terms. And while it’s common for apps to track personal identification, they found that the app’s tracking of users’ precise geo-location, sexual identity data, and immigration status to be concerning. As a result, some users decided to delete the app due to overall privacy concerns; others were more wary of privacy integrity under the new ownership. Those that stayed encountered outages, as TikTok temporarily went dark in the U.S., citing a power distribution at its domestic data center. The platform returned within hours, but users reported glitches and shifts in their “For You Page” feeds, leaving them uneasy and skeptical.

Why Does This Matter?

TikTok is now a substantial content provider, and so any major shifts can significantly impact advertiser strategy. And with more than 170 million U.S. users and millions of active advertisers, it’s not only a cultural engine, but a performance driver. TikTok has hovered under uncertainty for years, with brands
operating under the cloud of “what if it gets banned?” That apprehension affected long-term investment planning, influencer contracts, and even creative strategy. Now, that existential risk is gone. The conversation now shifts from “Will TikTok stay?” to “How does TikTok evolve?”

The Core Issues at Stake

• Data Governance & Consumer Trust: Ownership changed, but privacy concerns remain. Consumers are more aware of how their data is used, and brands should expect continued scrutiny around transparency, targeting, and accountability. This is an industry-wide issue, not just on TikTok.
• Algorithm Stability: The biggest unknown is the impact on TikTok’s coveted proprietary algorithm. TikTok’s algorithm drives discovery and commerce. The new ownership may influence content amplification, a major concern for both creators and users at the moment. For advertisers, it’s how paid performance is measured, so marketers should closely monitor buying costs and conversion trends.

What’s Next for TikTok?

In the short term, stabilization. The outage has been resolved. Users are still scrolling. Advertisers are still spending. The broader ecosystem appears intact. In the long term, expect continued adjustments to data policies and community standards, as well as initiatives aimed at retaining creators. TikTok has every incentive to prove itself as a stable, compliant, performance-driven U.S. company.

We’ve seen ownership shifts before, with Facebook acquiring Instagram and, perhaps, the biggest shake-up, Twitter shifting to X ownership. Only time will tell the longevity of TikTok with the new ownership. But one thing is for certain: the app’s longevity over the next year will hinge on how it handles censorship and quality creator retention, because a platform is only as strong as its content.

What This Means for Brands

TikTok remains a powerful discovery engine and, in many categories, a conversion driver when creative aligns with platform behavior. Now is the time for brands to lean into the data and do a fair assessment of not only campaign performance but core audience shifts. Keep an eye on trends and understand how campaigns/messages resonate with consumers. Follow the audience and the data. This is not a pullback moment. It’s a measurement moment.

Our Advice to Advertisers

1. Don’t Panic
News cycles move faster than user behavior. The good news is that, despite deletion headlines and outage chatter, TikTok’s audience remains active. Performance data—not feelings or memes—should continue to dictate investment decisions.

2. Diversify, Diversify, Diversify
No platform should operate in isolation. Even with ownership certainty, a smart media strategy requires balance. Ensure your mix spans multiple channels and that creative is adapted and flexible across platforms. TikTok may be core for discovery, but diversification protects performance. Diversification should extend beyond traditional channel mix and include partnering with influencers and creators whose content and audience are versatile across platforms.

3. Lean Into Creative Learning
TikTok’s strength has always been cultural fluency and algorithmic precision. Even if targeting evolves under tighter privacy norms, creative will remain the primary lever. Brands that understand native storytelling, community signals, and trend responsiveness will continue to win, regardless of platform.

TikTok is now a U.S.-owned media platform entering its next growth phase. For advertisers, the directive is simple: measure carefully, diversify strategically, and create natively.

This article is featured in Media Impact Report No. 72. View the full report here.