Powerful Republican represents potential roadblocks to the Trump -backed plan to save Tiktok

Oracle technology giant to save Tiktok is hitting a frightening obstacle: American Senate Tom Cotton.

Arkansas’ heavy conservative weight has made it clear to the Trump team he will oppose any agreement that does not respect the US two -party legislation seeking that TIKTOK be fully diverted from its Chinese control and ownership, according to three direct knowledge of the matter.

Cotton has not made public comments on the current state of discussions to save Tiktok from a sale or prohibition ordered in the congregation. But sources close to him tell the post that he has recently been asked about the status of talks and there have been conversations with the White House on the matter.

Possible cotton opposition could launch a highly discussed tikhikuli deal to house users’ data from the popular app with short video on Oracle servers. Right now, China -based Tiktok Bytedance Mother Company still owns the algorithm. Oracle and Tiki leaders have argued that since Algo would be placed inside Oracle’s Cloud, it would be the American technology giant, not the Chinese, who are in control of it.

However, skepticism remains from the main lawmakers such as cotton and others. This reaction has also led White House officials to weigh other tools to prevent the app not being banned at the US, these people say.

President Trump – who ironically pushed a ban on his first mandate for spying concerns – recently has a soft place for the app. He credits Tiktok by helping him win the 2024 presidential election after the pro-trump videos circulated throughout the campaign.

After being in office, he issued an executive order giving a 75 -day return from law, allowing Tiktok to find a partner of the agreement before the detention came into force. The suspension of the detention ends on April 5, and it is unclear whether Trump will issue another executive order until an agreement can be made.

Trump has long argued that Oracle founded by his close friend Larry Ellison, the billionaire of Silicon Valley-must be at the center of any Tiktok agreement.

One of the problems with the drafting of any agreement is, of course, the signature of the Chinese government, which plays an essential role in the operations of all Chinese companies, even those with publicly traded actions in the JBA people near negotiations say Trump may need to negotiate with Chinese President Xi Jinping to make it happen. Beijing has made it clear so far in the negotiations that it is not ready to share with Tiktok’s algorithm.

As I first reported on March 7, the table deal will include a kind of “licensing agreement” between Oracle and Bytedance, people familiar with the issue said. It will include tiktok’s US operations control, keeping and storing user data. Bytedance would still own the algorithm – that is, the critics claim, the Chinese Communist Party would still be at least in theory in the control of the product and could be entered into user data for spying purposes, a tick has long denied.

Critics say the transaction appears to fall out of the rigors of legislation known as the No Tiktok Act on government equipment, which was signed by law in 2022 by President Biden, and after a long court battle, supported by the Supreme Court before Trump took office.

Now, the White House aide is arguing if Tiktok is worth a brutal battle to save it if the Chinese do not want to give up full control, people say with direct knowledge of the matter.

“I know Trump likes the app. He thinks he helped him win in November, but with everything else on his plate, is it worth saving?

A cotton spokesman had no comment. A person close to him shows the money “If this agreement does not match the law, he is absolutely against him, but it is very soon to say what the substance of the agreement will be.”

A White House spokesman had no immediate comment. A spokesman for Tiktok had no comment. A spokesman for Oracle had no immediate comment.

In the midst of talks, cotton has made one thing clear, these people say: He wants any agreement to associate with Congress legislation that “prevents the creation or maintenance of any operational relationship between the United States operations and any entities previously controlled by a foreign opponent”.

Oracle and the White House could have the opportunity to keep the algorithm in the cloud, and with additional protective measures, the Chinese would no longer “control” it anymore.

Cotton, a Republican of Rangut on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is said to be skeptical of this approach, and wants new company owners to create their algorithm or buy it existing from the Chinese.

He has long been a critic of Tiktok, raising national security concerns that the Chinese communist regime, which has control over China Inc., has access to users’ data for spy artisan purposes. Another concern is that the comprehensive algorithm pushes anti-American propaganda to its 170 million US users, consisting mainly of young children and adults.

But since the early days of China-Tiktok diversion talks about five years ago, Chinese government officials have made it clear that they were not willing to share with the so-called TIKTOK secret sauce, its algorithm that enhances users’ engagement by feeding on users based on different metrics.

Since then, Tiktok has moved its user’s user data to be stored in Oracle Cloud, something known as the “Texas Project” because it is where the technology giant is based. She has hired lobbyists to make her own Congress issue that does not remove user data for spying purposes.

The new Licensing Agreement will apparently include additional protection measures to prevent any Chinese background effort to gain access to it, but many GOP lawmakers and China’s hawks as cotton still have to swing. Another issue: the possible responsibility of any agreement that does not meet the strict standards of law that include Chinese control or algorithm ownership.

People with knowledge of oracle-white home discussions say that any agreement that does not belong to what the law determines a clean leave from China may be subject to litigation, including by Democrats of State Attorneys, which means Oracle may need to be compensated by the White House.