WASHINGTON – The administration of President Donald Trump is working on a plan to save TikTok, a popular social media app, by tapping software company Oracle and a group of outside investors to take control of its global operations.
Under the deal being negotiated by the White House, TikTok’s China-based owner, ByteDance, would retain a minority stake in the company, but the app’s algorithm, data collection, and software updates would be overseen by Oracle, which already provides the foundation of TikTok’s web infrastructure.
The possible deal would mean that American investors would own a majority stake in TikTok. However, the report noted that the terms of the deal could change and are still being hammered out.
Oracle’s involvement in the talks is not new, as the company has been a key partner of TikTok’s since 2018. However, the reported deal would give Oracle a much larger role in the company’s operations.
Other potential investors, including Microsoft, are also involved in the talks, NPR reported.
The goal of the deal is for Oracle to effectively monitor and provide oversight of what is going on with TikTok, said a person directly involved in the talks but not authorized to speak publicly. “ByteDance wouldn’t completely go away, but it would minimize Chinese ownership,” the person said.
The White House and Oracle have held a meeting about a potential deal and another meeting is scheduled for next week.
Appeasing Congress is seen as a key hurdle by the White House, with a source saying that Oracle is interested in a TikTok stake “in the tens of billions.” However, the status of the deal is still uncertain and faces many challenges before it can be finalized.