In the US, Oracle will offer TikTok security

As part of an agreement struck by the Trump administration to permit the video app to function in the US with little Chinese presence. Tech giant Oracle will be in charge of guaranteeing the security of TikTok’s algorithm, the White House said Monday.

«Oracle will act as the security provider,» an administration official told reporters, referring to the deal with Beijing-backed Chinese parent company Bytedance. This will transfer TikTok’s «US operations to a new joint venture» with a 75% US presence.

«(Oracle) will provide comprehensive security across the enterprise, including how the app integrates with and interacts with the phone, how it’s updated. How US data is stored in Oracle’s systems, how the content recommendation algorithm works. Ultimately every part of the app’s source code,» the official explained.

In order to come to an agreement that complied with both Chinese and American legal requirements, he cautioned that this was a «difficult point of negotiation» between the parties. He went on to say, «This proposal would place the algorithm under the control of the U.S. joint venture» for its activities in the United States.

In 2024, the US Congress decided that TikTok should set up a business in the US that is sufficiently distinct from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, for national security considerations.

ByteDance will have less than 20% of the new joint venture, according to the current agreement. The investors will include a mix of international and US businesses that are already Bytedance investors. «As well as a significant number of new investors who have no affiliation» with the Chinese company.

The media tycoons Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan were tipped by US President Donald Trump. On Sunday to be on the board of directors of the firm that would run TikTok in the US.

He also indicated the probable involvement of Michael Dell, the CEO of Dell Technologies, and Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle.