TikTok’s New US Owners: A Shift in Power with Big Questions

TikTok’s U.S. operations are now owned by a coalition including Larry Ellison’s Oracle, but users are left wondering: Will the app’s algorithm, content, and data policies shift under new masters?

ByteDance and a U.S. investor group finalized a $14 billion deal to spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a joint venture called TikTok US Data Security (USDS) LLC. Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX each own 15% of the joint venture; ByteDance retains 19.9%.

New U.S. leadership includes Adam Presser (CEO) and Will Farrell (CISO), with Larry Ellison’s Oracle overseeing security and data privacy. Updated terms of service now collect data from AI interactions, including prompts and responses, but most data practices remain unchanged from prior policies.

Concerns about content moderation under Oracle’s influence, given Larry Ellison’s ties to Donald Trump and Israeli interests. Kate Ruane, director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said:

This deal is concerning because it hands control over speech on TikTok to a new consortium of investors with their own motivations for shaping online discourse.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) called for congressional investigation, noting:

The deal raises more questions than answers.

The joint venture’s lack of transparency in plans and algorithm retraining has drawn scrutiny. Experts and lawmakers remain skeptical about how Oracle’s leadership will influence TikTok’s operations.