As questions continue around Washington about the future of Tiktok, the names of potential suitors of popular video apps continue to emerge: Oracle.
On Tuesday, Oracle met with top aides at Capitol Hill to discuss how the US tech giant, which processes and serves Tiktok user data, will work with China-owned video apps in the coming weeks.
The problem arises as Tiktok stares at the April 5th deadline from the April 5th federal law. The owner of Tiktok is a consolidation of Chinese internet companies, whose Chinese ties have raised questions about whether the app poses a national security threat in the US.
At Tuesday's meeting, the aides also raised the topic of whether oral will be involved in the operation of Tiktok. Our aides sought an assurance from Oracle that every transaction would be governed by the law.
The meeting requested by the aides included staff from the Communist Party of China's House Selection Committee, Mike Johnson's office, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Tiktok faces yet another political scramble about its future. In January, President Trump delayed enforcement of laws banning Tiktok from the United States. Trump promised that the app would sign a contract to protect national security, and in February tapped Vice President JD Vance to find an arrangement to save it.
Oracle is a natural candidate to become part of Tiktok's deal. The company is already a high-tech partner of U.S. Tiktok, and has bid on the app when Trump tried to force sales from the ordinance in his first term.
The White House, not Congress, will ultimately decide whether Tiktok's deal can proceed. It is unclear whether Oracle is currently interested in the app. Tiktok and Oracle declined to comment. The White House also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
As the April 5 deadline approaches, Republican lawmakers and other Chinese Hawks who supported the law expressed concern that Tiktok and Baitedan might try to attack deals with the Trump administration, which maintain China's influence over the app and its powerful algorithms.
Lawmakers say transactions that do not meet the requirements of the law could undermine national security and could lead to shareholder litigation against technology companies that distribute and host Tiktok in the United States.
“The law is clear. All transactions were deputy representative John Mourenard, Michigan Republican John Mourenard, who heads a China-focused House committee, wrote his opinion on Tuesday at national review. He said he was “committed to ensuring that the deal with Tiktok meets the clear statutory requirements set out by Congress.”
Vance last week told NBC News that by April 5, “it will allow us to have a high level of agreement that we all believe is almost certainly fulfilling our national security concerns and have a clear American Tiktok company.”
Trump said this month that he was optimistic that Tiktok would sign a deal before the deadline, but he said he was open to extending the deadline.
Oracle co-founder and chief technology officer Larry Ellison joined Trump in January to announce his $100 billion artificial intelligence initiative. At the event, Trump said Elon Musk or Oracle could buy Tiktok, highlighting his “right to trade.”
The suspension of Trump's law enforcement raised questions as to whether the president remains at the rule of law or extends the boundaries of executive power. Some experts say the conflict represents the beginning of a constitutional crisis.
Tiktok has argued that it is impossible to sell the company for at least a year, as the Chinese government does not allow Tiktok's very important algorithms to export.
