Photo Credit: Getty Images
The White House has clarified one of the biggest outstanding questions regarding TikTok’s future in the United States: who will control its powerful algorithm. According to senior officials, Oracle will oversee TikTok’s U.S. algorithm once the app’s operations are transferred to a new American-led ownership group.
The move is part of a broader deal to place TikTok under majority U.S. ownership, a step the White House has framed as essential for addressing national security concerns tied to the app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Under the agreement, TikTok’s algorithm will be operated within the U.S., and Oracle will monitor how the recommendation system functions and pushes content to users.
A senior White House official confirmed Monday that the deal involves transferring TikTok’s U.S. operations, along with a copy of its algorithm, to a new joint venture based in the U.S. The ownership group will consist of majority American investors and will be run by a U.S.-dominated board of directors. ByteDance, however, will retain less than a 20% stake in TikTok’s U.S. business once the transaction is complete.
Oracle and private equity firm Silver Lake are expected to be part of the new investor lineup. Additional participants will include U.S. and global investors already tied to ByteDance, as well as new backers. President Donald Trump suggested that prominent figures such as Michael Dell and Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch might also be involved, though a source clarified to CNN that Fox Corp. Would be among the investors, not the Murdochs personally.
The deal still requires formal approvals from Chinese regulators, though U.S. officials have expressed confidence that the process will be completed. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Saturday that the administration is “100% confident that a deal is done,” and that it could be signed in the coming days. Trump is also expected to issue an executive order this week designating the transaction as a qualified divestiture under last year’s ban-or-sale law. That order will extend the pause on enforcement by 120 days to allow for regulatory clearance.
The algorithm’s fate has been at the center of negotiations, as it underpins TikTok’s global popularity while also driving national security concerns. U.S. officials feared ByteDance could be compelled to manipulate recommendations on behalf of the Chinese government. To prevent this, the ban-or-sale law prohibits “any cooperation with respect to the operation of a content recommendation algorithm” between ByteDance and the new U.S. entity. Under the agreement, the algorithm will be retrained solely on U.S. user data, with Oracle ensuring compliance.
The arrangement builds on Oracle’s existing partnership with ByteDance to store U.S. user data domestically. Oracle’s role is expected to expand significantly as it monitors TikTok’s core recommendation engine. Meanwhile, in an unexpected move, Oracle announced that CEO Safra Catz will step down, to be replaced by Clay Magouyrk and Mike Silica as co-CEOs. Catz will assume a vice chair role on Oracle’s board, a change that could open the door for her to take on a leadership position within the new TikTok venture.
The White House has not yet decided whether it will charge a fee for facilitating the deal, which is valued in the billions of dollars. Officials also confirmed that the government will not hold a “golden share” or equity stake in the new entity.
If finalized, the agreement would end years of uncertainty over TikTok’s U.S. operations and bring one of the world’s most influential social media platforms under American oversight — with Oracle at the center of its future in the United States.
