Athira Sethu
Kochi, 23 Sep 2025
TikTok’s future in the US has been a large question over the past couple of years. Now, a new proposal is forming. Under a senior US official’s plan, technology giant Oracle will receive a replica of TikTok’s algorithm, the technology that determines what videos users watch, and will operate it for American consumers.
This action is intended to solve long-standing national security issues. The algorithm is owned by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, which is headquartered in Beijing, China. US lawmakers and security experts have cautioned that the Chinese government may use the algorithm secretly to manipulate what Americans see, in ways difficult to identify.
An official for the House Select Committee on China made it unequivocal: “There can’t be any shared algorithm with ByteDance. If it remains Chinese, it won’t be compliant.”
How the plan will work
As part of the agreement, Oracle not only gets a copy of the algorithm but also will be responsible for maintaining TikTok’s security practices within the US. The officials explained that the algorithm would be thoroughly examined and retrained based solely on American data. The recommendation system will be trained on US user patterns rather than global data. The objective is to ensure the app “behaves appropriately” within the American ecosystem.
It is not yet certain if this will establish a distinct TikTok experience for US users, as the retrained algorithm can potentially function differently than the algorithm employed globally.
What comes next
The White House reports that President Trump will sign an executive order later this week affirming that the deal satisfies national security needs. After signing, TikTok will have 120 additional days to complete agreements.
The agreement also includes establishing a new joint venture for TikTok’s US business. The majority of its board members will be American. As of now, Oracle and private equity firm Silver Lake are already guaranteed investors. Significantly, the US government itself won’t have any ownership or seat on the new company’s committee.
The bigger picture
The agreement is part of a wider effort by the US to restrict Chinese dominance of apps and technology that Americans use. Both the Biden and Trump administrations have backed steps to delink TikTok from ByteDance.
President Trump, who already extended TikTok’s deadline multiple times, is still insisting on a final deal. He also spoke personally with China’s President Xi Jinping on the issue.
The coming weeks will be pivotal. If China vetoes the framework agreement and everything is signed, TikTok will remain in the US under Oracle’s eyes.
