TikTok and software AI giant Oracle, among other investors struck a deal to create a U.S. platform separated from any Chinese influence. For the better part of two years, the U.S. and China have been going back and forth about the ownership of the addictive social media app. 

Back in January 2025, Congress briefly banned the app for 14 short hours, causing panic among users. The problem with this deal? Oracle’s close ties with President Trump.

Oracle, created in 1977 by Larry Ellison, is a major technology company specialized in database software, cloud systems and software products. Court records from  2020 show Ellison on a phone call with Trump supporters discussing ways to undermine the election results. Since then, Trump and Ellison’s relationship has soared, which explains why Trump handed control over to Ellison on this deal. 

To add fuel to the fire, Oracle also has direct partnership with the state of Israel. The BDS movement has called for the boycott of Oracle in protest of their support of Israel. It’s disheartening to see an app built around free speech partner with notorious enemies of the First Amendment. If the president’s friend — who also supports genocide — owns a part of one of the most used social media apps, then this brings up the issue of censorship. Will TikTok users be able to post anti-Trump or anti-Israel videos? 

What was once a safe space to share ideas and inform the masses has become a weapon. Oracle now controls the data of U.S. users and with its close ties to Israel and Trump, there is no way to say there will be good outcomes. However, a silver-lining does exist — TikTok users have claimed their For You pages have been uncustomized to their algorithm which means it will take a while for Oracle to get used to these new reins before content, including videos labeled as propaganda, is reviewed and ultimately removed.