TikTok’s newly formed U.S. joint venture has updated its privacy policy to expand the types of location data it can collect from American users, following the completion of a deal that transferred control of the app’s U.S. operations from its Chinese owner to a new investor group.
Privacy Policy Updated After Deal Closure
The revised policy was published after investors finalized an agreement on Thursday with ByteDance to operate TikTok’s business in the United States. The joint venture, operating under the name TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, said it may now collect precise location data from users, depending on individual settings.
Under the previous policy, TikTok disclosed that it collected only approximate location data. The updated terms state that precise location information may be gathered and that such data will be processed in accordance with applicable law. Users can disable location sharing at any time through their device settings.
Shift From Earlier Data Collection Practices
Before the joint venture was established, TikTok already collected certain location signals from U.S. users, including data derived from SIM cards and IP addresses. However, a 2024 version of the company’s privacy policy stated that TikTok did not collect approximate GPS location data from American users running the most recent version of the app.
Precise location sharing has not yet been enabled in the United States. The company said the feature is expected to be optional and turned off by default, with users prompted to opt in through a pop-up notice. TikTok has not provided a timeline for when the change may be introduced to U.S. users.
Comparison With UK And European Practices
TikTok already collects similar location data from users in the United Kingdom and Europe as part of its Nearby Feed feature, which allows people to discover local events and businesses. The company has said the U.S. rollout would follow a different approach, requiring explicit user consent.
Expanded Data Collection For AI Tools
The updated privacy policy also broadens the joint venture’s permissions to collect information related to user interactions with TikTok’s artificial intelligence tools. This includes prompts and questions submitted by users, as well as contextual data about how, when, and where AI-generated content is created.
Investor Structure And Oracle’s Role
TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is managed by three primary investors, including Oracle. Oracle has committed significant resources to AI infrastructure and has taken on substantial debt to support those investments.
Oracle is chaired by Larry Ellison, a Republican donor and longtime ally of U.S. President Donald Trump. The Trump administration played a role in brokering the agreement that led to the formation of the joint venture.
Background Of U.S. Government Action
The deal follows years of disputes between Washington and Beijing that began during Trump’s first term, when he sought to ban TikTok over national security concerns. In 2024, the U.S. enacted legislation requiring the app to be banned by January 2025 if ByteDance did not divest its U.S. operations.
Trump repeatedly delayed enforcement of that law until the joint venture was finalized this week. The legislation was driven in part by concerns that the Chinese government could gain access to data belonging to American users.
Data Security Commitments And Oversight
In a statement issued Thursday, the joint venture said its mandate is to secure U.S. user data, applications, and the recommendation algorithm through data privacy and cybersecurity measures. Oracle said it will oversee the retraining of TikTok’s recommendation algorithm using existing U.S. user data, with the system hosted in Oracle’s U.S.-based cloud infrastructure.
ByteDance will retain a minority ownership stake of just under 20 percent in the joint venture. Other managing investors include U.S. technology investment firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi state-owned investment fund MGX, which has conducted business with the Trump family’s crypto venture World Liberty Financial.
Congressional Scrutiny Continues
On Friday, Republican Representative John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, raised concerns about ByteDance’s continuing involvement in TikTok’s U.S. operations.
In a statement, Moolenaar questioned whether the agreement prevents Chinese influence over the platform’s algorithm and whether Americans can be assured that their data is secure, adding that those issues would be examined as part of congressional oversight.
Featured image credits: Plann
For more stories like it, click the +Follow button at the top of this page to follow us.