Oracle is reportedly in the lead to save TikTok from US ban
Source: The Verge
Oracle is closing in on a deal that would have it “vouch” for TikTok’s security in exchange for a small stake in the company’s US operations, according to Bloomberg. The plan, which was reportedly discussed among the Trump administration last week, would include “guarantees that an updated US version of TikTok would not contain a back door that China’s government could exploit.”
As noted by Bloomberg, the deal may still leave the app’s algorithm with TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance. A source told the outlet that China is aware of the potential deal, and that the country’s authorities will only approve if “TikTok’s algorithm remains fully under China’s control.” The Information similarly reported last week that Oracle could help save TikTok from a ban.
Whether this proposal changes anything remains in question, as TikTok previously attempted to assuage security concerns by routing US user data through Oracle servers as part of an initiative called Project Texas that began in 2022.
Even with Project Texas in place, reports still emerged claiming Chinese employees had access to US user data and that the effort was “largely cosmetic.” The partnership didn’t seem to inspire confidence in the US government, either. An appeals court acknowledged this in its ruling against TikTok last December, stating the app “could not satisfactorily resolve the government’s concerns,” adding that the government found “mitigation efforts short of divestiture were insufficient.”
Neither TikTok nor Oracle immediately responded to The Verge’s request for comment.
Last week, Vice President JD Vance said, “There will almost certainly be a high-level agreement that I think satisfies our national security concerns” by the April 5th deadline to save TikTok. President Donald Trump approved of Oracle’s bid for TikTok when he initially began targeting the app in 2020.
