Oracle v Privacy: Why Oracle's TikTok Involvement Sparked Privacy Concerns
- 50 minutes ago
- 5 min read
By Alyssa Beaumont
After the establishment of TikTok’s new U.S.-owned-and-operated branch, CNBC reported a 150% increase in users deleting the app. Many people have raised concerns over potential privacy infringements and censorship in favor of pro-U.S. propaganda. Such fears bear a striking resemblance to those that were levied against ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company.
In response to China’s rumored control over TikTok, Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., said, “It's not hard to imagine how a platform that facilitates so much commerce, political discourse and social debate could be covertly manipulated to serve the goals of an authoritarian regime.”
As the Trump administration receives allegations of mimicking or becoming an authoritarian regime, many people suspect it will use the platform exactly as Warner described. Especially because of Oracle’s place in the new deal.
Oracle America, Inc. (“Oracle”) plays a pivotal role in data protection, software assurance and algorithm security, according to an official announcement from TikTok USDS Joint Venture. However, the tech company’s reputation for security faltered after alleged “deliberate and purposeful surveillance of the general population via their digital and online existence” — a direct quote from a class action lawsuit filed against Oracle in 2022 which ended in a settlement.
The suit claims that Oracle “created a network that tracks in real-time and records indefinitely the personal information of hundreds of millions of people” — more than 300 million people, or over 80% of the U.S. population.
In addition to its well-known data storage services, such as "Oracle Cloud," Oracle was one of the biggest data brokers in the world until its advertising services were shut down in September 2024. A data broker is an individual or company that collects online or offline personal data (e.g. financial, health, or identity information), which third parties can purchase or license. This information is invaluable to companies trying to make their targeted ads more effective: the exact market Oracle ID served.
Oracle’s BlueKai Marketplace, the self-proclaimed “largest global marketplace,” combined massive amounts of user data into a single location. Such data included concrete identifiers: names, addresses, e-mails, and phone numbers, as well as behavioral data: visited online sites, digital and offline purchases, and location and method of payment while shopping.
A brochure from the company boasts about “giving marketers a unified view of their consumer: what they do, buy and where they go.” The service accounted for $3 trillion in consumer spending, integrated with over 200 data partners and media companies, and reached over 115 million American households. The Oracle ID Graph sorted Oracle’s massive amount of customer information, from online and offline and across devices, into customer profiles. An organization with such a comprehensive “ID” of customers is better equipped to “take targeting to a whole new level,” as Oracle promised.
In November 2024, Oracle agreed to settle the case to avoid additional burden and expenses, and denied that it did anything unlawful or improper.
Oracle suspended this advertising operation in September 2024. The company still offers similar customer aggregation tools, now backed by AI, through Oracle Marketing, but it reportedly builds upon the marketer’s own user data as opposed to discreetly collecting it on its own across channels. Oracle is headquartered in Texas and has no clear public notice on their website to indicate that they still operate as a data broker, which they would be required to do under Texas law. In November 2024, Oracle agreed to settle the case to avoid additional burden and expenses, and denied that it did anything unlawful or improper.
Oracle suspended this advertising operation in September 2024. The company still offers similar customer aggregation tools, now backed by AI, through Oracle Marketing, but it reportedly builds upon the marketer’s own user data as opposed to discreetly collecting it on its own across channels. Oracle is headquartered in Texas and has no clear public notice on their website to indicate that they still operate as a data broker, which they would be required to do under Texas law.
Oracle’s status as a data broker meant that it could use third-party cookies to track individuals without asking for their consent — the exact issue raised in the class action. When you accept cookies on a website, small files are stored on your device to remember things like login information, shopping cart items, and site preferences (i.e. essential cookies). These are first-party cookies and they enable personalized functionality. Third-party cookies, like those once used by Oracle, track browsing activity for advertising. Increased consumer privacy awareness has made them far less profitable, though; it’s also made it difficult for the general public to put their trust in a company with unfavorable past practices.
TRT World, a Turkish public broadcaster, posted a YouTube short titled “Israel-linked billionaires gain control of Tiktok” that has garnered over 300,000 views and 37,000 likes. The video calls “Oracle and its allies” the new power players in TikTok USDS Joint Venture; it puts billionaire Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder, “at the center” of the company, though he hasn’t been CEO since 2014.
In an official statement from the company announcing the appointment of two new CEOs in September 2025, Ellison said, “In her role as Vice Chair, Safra and I will be able to continue our 26-year partnership—helping to guide Oracle’s direction, growth and success.”
Larry Ellison, current Executive Chairman and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), as well as Safra Catz, former CEO and current Executive Vice Chair of Oracle’s Board of Directors, have been staunch supporters of the United States and Israel for years, not shy to incorporate that into business moves.
Catz, an Israel-born U.S. immigrant, stated, “When you connect with Oracle you understand that we are committed to the U.S. and Israel. We are not flexible regarding our mission, and our commitment to Israel is second to none,” when asked about protests against Israel organized by employees at Google and Apple in 2021. She added, “This is a free world and I love my employees, and if they don't agree with our mission to support the State of Israel, then maybe we aren't the right company for them. Larry and I are publicly committed to Israel and devote personal time to the country and no one should be surprised by that.”
Their commitment has gone beyond just words. In 2016, Catz served on the transition team for President Trump’s first term while holding her position as CEO, prompting the public resignation of an Oracle executive in protest. Open Secrets reports that Catz, Ellison, numerous Oracle employees and Oracle have separately donated millions of dollars in support of political campaigns or lobbying — bipartisan efforts, though they trend in favor of Republicans at times.
Oracle’s political involvement raises concerns with many people as the Trump administration becomes more brazen in its exertion of power for political agendas. The Department of Homeland Security has recently issued subpoenas to tech companies to uncover the identities of its critics on social media. Google, Reddit, Discord and Meta were among the recipients named by whistleblowers; TikTok was not.
TikTok has proven to be a highly valuable resource with immense power to drive political discussions. This is an incredibly tumultuous time in American history, rife with division and distrust. Thus, many Americans are apprehensive about Oracle’s authority over their sensitive data; particularly on an app that facilitates a lot of actions that have been explicitly condemned by the U.S. government. Neither Oracle nor TikTok USDS Joint Venture has directly addressed such concerns.
Alyssa Beaumont is a freshman at The City College of New York, majoring in Communications with a concentration in Journalism. She joined The Paper to hone her writing skills and gain experience in the world of journalism. She is a novice movie buff who loves expressing herself creatively.