Updated: 8:47 p.m. on Oct. 10
Once again, TikTok has been “saved,” according to President Donald J. Trump. On Sept. 25, Trump signed an executive order that would prevent TikTok from being banned in the U.S.
But there’s a glaring issue with the deal.
“This is going to be American-operated all the way,” Trump said while signing the order. “I have great respect for President Xi, and I very much appreciate that he approved the deal, because to get it done properly, we really needed the support of China and the approval of China.”
This executive order facilitated the sale of TikTok’s U.S. assets to several United States-based investors. Oracle is the primary company serving as TikTok’s new security provider and will monitor the social media site’s assets.
What is Oracle? It is one of America’s largest tech companies worth more than $800 billion. There’s probably a good chance you’ve never heard of them before this deal. The company provides software, mainly databases and cloud computing services.
The issue with this new deal for TikTok, lies with the co-founder and current chairman of Oracle, Larry Ellison. Ellison played a “big” role in the deal according to Trump.
Ellison is considered a “Trump ally,” however he’s also very close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. So close in fact, that the two have vacationed together on Netanyahu’s private island according to several sources including The Guardian.
This raises several red flags.
The fact that this deal was being finalized just days after Netanyahu spoke to pro Israel influencers at Israel’s Consulate General in New York about social media being a “weapon” to influence U.S. opinion on Israel. He also specifically stated that he views TikTok as “the most important purchase going on right now,” alleging its control could be “consequential,” during his speech.
“You have to fight with the weapons that apply to the battlefield, and one of the most important ones is social media,” Netanyahu said while speaking to influencers in New York.
What does this mean for TikTok?
With Netanyahu’s close friend and staunch Israel supporter, Larry Ellison now overseeing TikTok and its algorithm, this is going to mean that Israel can now influence what is promoted on its platform. Potentially silencing any and all anti-Israel opinions.
Israel is losing the support of Americans hard. Overall, the percentage of U.S. adults who express negative opinions towards Israel has shot up over 10 percent (42 percent to 53 percent) from 2022 to 2025 according to a survey done by Pew Research Center.
They are especially losing support among the youth. The same survey showed that Republicans aged 18-49 have shown a 15 percent increase (35 percent to 50 percent) in negative views towards Israel since 2022.
The same phenomenon occurred with Democrat voters in the same age range. Their percentage has increased by 9 percent (62 percent to 71 percent).
This is why Netanyahu views the TikTok sale as “consequential.”
Israel and Netanyahu need American support to get what they desire out of the Middle East. Especially with their ongoing conflict with Hamas and Iran.
They want to use TikTok to get that support.
