This is TikTok's legal rulebook for US users, covering everything from how your videos are used to how disputes are resolved. The most important thing to know is that by posting any content — including videos, comments, and AI prompts — you give TikTok a permanent, royalty-free license to use that content to train its AI models and develop new technologies, and you cannot revoke this permission. If you have a dispute with TikTok, you are required to resolve it through individual arbitration and cannot join a class action lawsuit.
Technical Summary
This document is TikTok's US Terms of Service (last updated January 22, 2026), governing the contractual relationship between US users and TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, establishing the legal basis for platform access, content licensing, data use, and dispute resolution. The most significant obligations include users granting TikTok a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide, assignable and sub-licensable license to use all user-generated content — including for AI model training — and agreeing to binding arbitration with a class action waiver for dispute resolution. Notable deviations from industry standard include the explicit inclusion of AI-generated content (Inputs and Outputs) within the broad content license, the authority to revoke usernames after 180 days of inactivity, and TikTok's unilateral right to modify terms with limited notice obligations. The document engages COPPA (children under 13), FTC Act Section 5 (unfair/deceptive practices), CCPA (California consumer data rights), and the Federal Arbitration Act governing the mandatory arbitration clause; compliance teams should note the January 2026 update coincides with heightened US regulatory scrutiny of TikTok's Chinese-ownership structure and the newly named entity TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, which may signal structural changes requiring vendor contract and data processing agreement reviews.
Institutional Analysis
REGULATORY EXPOSURE: This document implicates COPPA (15 U.S.C. §6501 et seq.) for users under 13, enforced by the FTC; CCPA/CPRA (Cal. Civ. Code §1798.100 et seq.) for California residents' data righ…
REGULATORY EXPOSURE: This document implicates COPPA (15 U.S.C. §6501 et seq.) for users under 13, enforced by the FTC; CCPA/CPRA (Cal. Civ. Code §1798.100 et seq.) for California residents' data rights; FTC Act Section 5 (15 U.S.C. §45) regarding unfair or deceptive practices in the arbitration and…
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When you post any content on TikTok — including videos, comments, and AI chat inputs — you give TikTok a permanent, irrevocable right to use that content to train its AI systems and share it with business partners, and you cannot take this permission back.
By using TikTok, you agree to resolve any legal disputes with TikTok through individual arbitration rather than through the court system, and you waive the right to participate in class action lawsuits.
Children under 13 can only use a limited version of TikTok called the 'Under 13 Experience,' and anyone under 18 must have a parent or guardian review and agree to these Terms before using the platform.
TikTok shares your data and platform activity with affiliated companies and business partners — including BD TikTok USA LLC — to run advertising, marketing, and e-commerce features on the platform.
TikTok can change these Terms at any time, and your continued use of the platform after changes are made means you accept the new terms — even if you did not actively review or agree to the specific changes.
TikTok can delete or hide any of your content at any time for any reason it considers valid — including privately posted content — without prior notice to you.
If you send TikTok any suggestions, ideas, or feedback about the platform, TikTok owns everything they build from those ideas and owes you nothing in return.
TikTok sells virtual coins and diamonds that can be used on the platform — these are governed by a separate policy and typically have no real-world cash value or refund right.