By Dan Kitwood,John Brandon,Senior Contributor

Copyright forbes

LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 28: In this photo illustration, a TikTok logo is displayed on an iPhone on February 28, 2023 in London, England. This week, the US government and European Union’s parliament have announced bans on installing the popular social media app on staff devices. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
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Rumors are flying fast and free lately about who might be involved in a potential deal to save TikTok. While the White House is not exactly silencing all of the chatter, new details emerged today about who might be involved with a TikTok deal, including a big name in technology.

As a quick summary, the social media app faced another ban recently over privacy and security concerns since a law last year was enacted to protect U.S.-based users. At the heart of the issue is whether the Chinese company, called ByteDance, that owns TikTok could be collecting personal information in the app as a potential security breach.

On a press call today, senior officials said Oracle will handle the security for a U.S. version of the app. Details also emerged about an investor group that would license the app (including the algorithm that powers the app) and oversee its operation. I reached out to Oracle for comment and more specifics about the TikTok deal but have not received a response.

President Trump did hint at a few investors who are involved during a Fox News segment recently. He said Michael Dell is involved and both Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch would “probably” be part of the investment group as well.

That means a TikTok deal now seems to be moving in the right direction, even if details are still not completely clear.

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What the TikTok deal means for users

An important point to make at this point is related to the algorithm that powers the app. Much of the success of TikTok is how it seems so prescient about what you like to see in your feed. It’s as though the app can precisely predict your interests.

Here’s an example of how that works. Lately, I’ve been watching clips about high-end professional cameras and, one after the other, I’m seeing experts weigh in with their advice. It’s a brilliant way to shop, among many other uses. The algorithm makes split second decisions about what will keep you swiping away.

For now, without firm details about the TikTok deal or which investors and partners are actually involved to help run the U.S. version of the app, it appears as though the algorithm will be retained by way of a licensing deal. ByteDance will retain 20% ownership but won’t be involved in securing personal data. That role now falls to Oracle.

Another key part of the announcement today included details about how the algorithm will be retrained on user data. That makes sense given the fact that user data will be stored in the U.S. as part of the licensing arrangement.

One way to think of the change is that the deal makes it possible for the U.S. version of TikTok to use the “brains” of the algorithm but the recommendation engine will be based on user behavior in the newly licensed version.

There’s a good chance we’ll all have to install a new version of the TikTok app and will likely have to accept a new user agreement.

What happens next with the TikTok deal

I mentioned how there are rumors flying fast about the TikTok deal, and I doubt that will slow down. With any popular piece of technology, there are hundreds of possible scenarios for which investment firms might be involved and potential partners.

At least we now know Oracle will be involved to secure the app. That means using a data center based in the United States to appease legislators who were not comfortable sending all of our swipes and clicks over to China for potential misuse.

Another question worth asking at this point is whether this will finally solve the issue. My concern is that ByteDance is still retaining some ownership, even if it is not directly related to user data. There are many assurances from the White House here.

I’ll be curious to find out more about what legislators think about whether the TikTok deal solves the issue once and for all—or opens up a whole new can of worms.

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