As of February 2026, TikTok finalized a deal with U.S investors Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, creating a new entity that gives a 15% stake to each American-based company, according to Yahoo Finance. However, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance still holds a 19.9% stake in the business.
This officially means TikTok has avoided a federal ban in the United States, and on paper, it looks like a major victory for American users. The newly introduced structure is designed to isolate U.S. user data and TikTok’s recommendation algorithm from Chinese control.
For the 200 million Americans who use TikTok, including myself, this new ownership deal feels like a solution. It is a clean compromise that keeps the app running while addressing national security concerns.
But the truth is far less comforting. TikTok might have changed ownership, but the company’s privacy practices reveal the app remains deeply rooted in surveillance. The problem was never the fact that TikTok was owned by a China-based company, it’s that the platform is fundamentally built to track, analyze and monetize its users.
TikTok’s updated privacy policy said the platform is now operated by TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, a U.S.-based joint venture. This is meant to reassure Americans their data is no longer in foreign hands. Yet this is where the concern grows.
The app is no longer just a foreign-owned platform; it is now embedded in the U.S. corporate ecosystem. Historically, an ecosystem, known as surveillance capitalism, has long profited from personal data collection and has had close relations with political power.
Supporters of the U.S ownership deal, like President Donald Trump, argue moving data to American oversight solves national security problems.
“It’s run by American investors and American companies, great ones, great investors,” Trump said.
According to Forbes, he claimed fewer data and privacy concerns will be raised because it’s run by “people that love the country.”
However, critics questioned whether this deal was ever about protecting Americans.
“It says that our national security is for sale at the right price, which is a dangerous message to send to the ruler of the Chinese Communist Party,” Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., who specializes in U.S.–China relations, said.
If TikTok was truly too dangerous to exist under Chinese ownership, it is concerning it suddenly became acceptable once U.S. investors profit from it.
Oh, maybe it’s because Donald Trump has strong ties with Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle and a massive donor to Republican candidates and causes.
This only seems to set up a takeover of TikTok, using users' information for possible political gain. The new policy openly admits TikTok collects information far beyond what users voluntarily provide.
“We collect your information in three ways,” TikTok’s privacy policy said. “Information that you provide, automatically collected information and information from other sources.”
In other words, TikTok is not simply gathering what you upload, it is gathering what it can observe, infer and obtain through external partners. What is more troubling is how TikTok can collect content that users may not have ever intended to put on the platform.
The policy reveals a system where even your drafts, unfinished videos and unsent creations might still become a part of TikTok’s data pipeline. It also admits to collecting highly invasive technical information like keystroke patterns and rhythms, which suggest behavioral tracking that goes beyond standard app usage.
The policy also said it can use this information to identify activity across devices. This means even if users switch devices or accounts, TikTok is still capable of connecting the dots.
Location tracking is another central concern, which is especially alarming considering TikTok’s updated terms of service in January 2026 reportedly expanded its ability to track precise geolocation and personal data.
“We may also collect precise location data,” TikTok’s updated policy said.
Location tracking is not just about showing local restaurant recommendations; it is one of the most sensitive forms of surveillance available. Precise location data can reveal where people work, where they live, who they associate with and what they do in their private lives.
TikTok even goes as far as collecting biometric information such as faceprints and voiceprints taken directly from videos, posted or not, and private messages. It highlights how far social media has moved beyond entertainment and into surveillance technology.
What I will never understand is that the Trump administration and the seven-member, majority American board of directors of TikTok U.S. will not bat an eye at collecting every piece of information that makes us who we are, but won’t be transparent about the deal itself.
The Trump administration created this deal in almost total secrecy. However, the Adversary Controlled Applications Act, or Public Law 118-50, does not require disclosure, meaning the Trump administration, nor any involved parties, have to share any data or information regarding the deal. To me, this seems ironic.
“We are not going to talk about the commercial terms of the deal,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. “It’s between two private parties.”
This is a serious issue. Americans are being told their privacy is “protected”, yet the full details of the arrangement remain unclear. The lack of transparency surrounding the deal itself seems to suggest that the terms will never be made public.
TikTok may have gone “American,” but Americans should not mistake that for safety. TikTok did not stop being a surveillance platform. It simply changed hands.
Michael Dorwaldt is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Michael about their column? Email them at md557123@ohio.edu.
