TikTok and Oracle will Become Business Partners in The United States

Oracle recently confirmed it had won a bid to become the “trusted technology partner” to TikTok. Oracle is known for selling database solutions to behemoth corporations, while TikTok is an app used by Generation Z for learning the latest viral dances, boycotting Trump rallies, and everything in between.

While it seems that no one knows exactly what a trusted technology partner does (including us), Oracle will start by providing TikTok with hosting services. Oracle will store user data, but ByteDance, the China-based parent company of TikTok, will still oversee and operate the app.

The arrangement raises numerous questions about the management of data privacy. The partnership does not give Oracle control over TikTok’s algorithm, leading some to fear that China could still exploit the app for nefarious purposes.

The proposed deal now heads to the Senate’s Committee on Foreign Investment, whose approval is by no means a sure thing.

“We remain opposed to any deal that would allow China-based or controlled entities to retain, control or modify the code or algorithms that operate any U.S.-based version of TikTok,” Senator Marco Rubio wrote in a letter on Wednesday.