The fate of TikTok in the United States has evolved into a theatre of politics, technology and business. At the centre of the latest chapter is US President Donald Trump, who announced progress on the app’s sale following a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
With Oracle positioned as the guardian of TikTok’s algorithm and American investors, including the Murdoch family and Silicon Valley heavyweights, the deal is shaping up to be one of the most scrutinised transactions in recent times.
On Truth Social, Trump set the tone of optimism. “I just completed a very productive call with President Xi [Jinping] of China. We made progress on many important issues, including…the approval of the TikTok deal.”
“I also agreed with President Xi that we would meet at the APEC Summit in South Korea,” he added.
Oracle as the Algorithm Gatekeeper
The agreement is built around Oracle Corp. retraining and securing TikTok’s algorithm for American users, a Bloomberg report stated, citing a White House official.
“Oracle, the US security partner, will operate, retrain and continuously monitor the US algorithm to ensure content is free from improper manipulation or surveillance,” the official said.
Under the proposed plan, ByteDance would lease a copy of its algorithm, which would then be retrained “from the ground up”.
With all US user data to be stored securely in an Oracle-managed cloud, Beijing-based ByteDance would lose access to both user data and the algorithm within the US market. While this setup might satisfy some security experts, certain aspects still require further clarification.
The future of TikTok in the US faces a dilemma: the US law mandates ByteDance’s complete divestiture, yet Chinese export regulations prohibit the transfer of sensitive software.
Lawmakers, including US representative John Moolenaar, have raised concerns that any continued reliance on ByteDance technology would result in the “ongoing reliance by the new TikTok on a ByteDance algorithm”.
The White House is “100% confident” that the deal will go through, a senior White House official told Politico.
Ownership will tilt firmly in favour of the American side. Six of seven board seats would go to US representatives, with ByteDance restricted to one seat and excluded from the security committee. The new entity will be majority-owned by a consortium that includes Oracle, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and private equity firm Silver Lake Management.
Oracle’s pre-existing Project Texas hosting deal ensures the company deepens its hold as TikTok’s infrastructure partner. Moreover, the company’s stock jumped ~6% with analysts estimating that the deal could generate $1-2 billion in additional revenue annually under Oracle’s oversight role, as per MarketWatch.
The Murdochs, Ellison and the Politics of Ownership
The personalities circling the deal have made headlines of their own.
During an interview on Fox News, Trump implied the Murdochs’ involvement, stating, “I hate to tell you this, but a man named Lachlan is involved. Lachlan is…a very unusual name, Lachlan Murdoch. And Rupert is probably going to be in the group.”
As per the Bloomberg report, Trump also brought up Larry Ellison, Oracle’s chairman, and Michael Dell, chairman of Dell Technologies.
The White House’s official announcement named Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz and Silver Lake, but not the Murdochs or Michael Dell, who was also cited by Trump. A source told Bloomberg that Fox Corporation would be engaged in the consortium, rather than the Murdochs personally.
For Trump, the deal carries multiple meanings. The US President reportedly suggested that the US should receive a “fee plus” as part of the deal. His administration intends to extend ByteDance's liquidation deadline by 120 days to allow more time for negotiations to conclude.
The Chinese government’s own language has been measured. Its foreign ministry noted that the Chinese government respects the company's wishes and hopes that productive commercial negotiations, conducted in accordance with market rules, will lead to a solution. They hope that the solution will comply with China’s laws and regulations while considering the interests of both parties.
TikTok’s future in the US now lies at the intersection of campaign politics, national security concerns and billion-dollar corporate stakes.
Oracle is poised to become both a watchdog and an enabler of the platform’s algorithm, while investors ranging from Silicon Valley to others line up for influence.
Whether the arrangement satisfies both Washington’s office and Beijing’s regulators is the next test, one that could decide whether TikTok remains a cultural mainstay or a casualty of geopolitical brinkmanship.
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