Critics warn TikTok deal swaps Chinese surveillance for U.S. surveillance
Experts warn the U.S.-backed arrangement could empower government access to data and influence, even as officials promise safeguards.
The Trump administration has pressed toward a deal to move TikTok into American hands, with White House officials signaling progress on a plan to place the Chinese-owned app under U.S. ownership. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Saturday that she was “100% confident that a deal is done,” and that the app’s data, privacy protections and its algorithm would be controlled by American ownership. The agreement follows a year of congressional action aimed at limiting Chinese access to U.S. user data and curbing perceived influence over American audiences.
Details outlined by the White House in a Monday statement obtained by Bloomberg show that at least 80% of TikTok U.S. ownership would be American, with a consortium led by Oracle, Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz. ByteDance would retain a minority stake. The data of about 170 million U.S. users would be kept on Oracle servers in Texas. The location of TikTok’s data centers has been a central point of contention for years after the Department of Justice argued last year that TikTok stored sensitive U.S. customer data on Chinese servers, raising concerns about possible access by the Chinese government. TikTok has disputed the notion that the Chinese government could access user data and has argued that it collects less data than many other social platforms. In 2023, TikTok CEO Shou Chew testified before Congress that “100 percent of U.S. user traffic is being routed to Oracle” and to a U.S. TikTok subsidiary.
Cybersecurity experts welcomed Oracle’s involvement as a safeguard for data, but warned that Beijing could still access information through other channels, and that any governance changes should undergo independent vetting. “Now we have U.S. regulations helping to protect American data,” said Dave Chronister, the CEO of Parameter Security. Samm Sacks, a senior fellow at New America who specializes in Chinese technology policy, noted that before the ban TikTok was pursuing Project Texas—an initiative to protect American user data within an American subsidiary managed on Oracle’s cloud with regular third-party audits. She cautioned that it was unclear how much of that robust framework would survive the new licensing structure and what independent oversight would exist.
On the algorithm, the White House said Oracle would retrain a licensed version of ByteDance’s recommendation engine “from the ground up,” and “will operate, retrain, and continuously monitor the U.S. algorithm to ensure content is free from improper manipulation or surveillance.” Still, some advisers said it remained unclear whether China would retain influence over the core code. A U.S. adviser told the Financial Times last week that “China keeps the algorithm,” underscoring the unsettled nature of the transfer. “The devil is in the details. If we’re able to modify it, that’s one thing,” Chronister said, “but if they’re allowing it to be exported and we use it as is, it doesn't change anything.”
Critics also worry that the U.S. government could gain too much control under the new arrangement. The rules call for TikTok U.S.’s board to include one member designated by the U.S. government, a structure some say could concentrate decision-making power. Kennedy stressed that giving a government entity a seat on the board raises questions about the separation of powers and duty. “If the government wants to ensure appropriate safeguards, then it should pass government standards or federal laws on social media companies, not have a specific government entity on the board itself,” he said. He noted that several leaders of the consortium have close ties to President Trump, a factor some critics say could color the deal’s oversight and governance.
Observers frame the deal within broader U.S.-China tensions over technology and data. Beijing has signaled it views Chinese access to global data as a strategic lever, while Washington argues that American users deserve protections against foreign influence. Be it through data governance, the licensed algorithm, or board oversight, proponents say the arrangement aims to safeguard privacy and national security, while opponents warn that it could simply relocate the surveillance reach from one government to another. As lawmakers assess the proposed framework, the consequence for users and for U.S.-China technology competition remains a topic of intense debate, shaped by evolving details and partisan perspectives about control, independence, and the balance of power in the digital age.