While the hype has been all about Microsoft purchasing TikTok, TikTok rejected Microsoft's bid just this past Sunday and agreed to partner with Trump supporter company Oracle. IG didn't want to be left out either.

Instagram launched Reels to compete with the short-form video platform's signature format. Reels provides the same features of TikTok but built directly into the Instagram Camera - and without the scandal of getting sued for harvesting data from children under 13.

Reels has the editing tools like a timer, countdown clock, and camera effects. This includes the library of licensed music as well as user-recorded audio tracks.

An upcoming article will dive into Reels, for now let's talk about Oracle partnering with TikTok and the US government's stance.

Regarding the sale of TikTok, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told CNBC:

“From our standpoint, we’ll need to make sure that the code is, one, secure, Americans’ data is secure, that the phones are secure and we’ll be looking to have discussions with Oracle over the next few days with our technical teams.”

The data and security issues would be key to the federal government’s review & is crucial to determining whether or not to ban TikTok from America completely.

President Trump issued an executive order in August 2020 demanding that ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, to destroy all data connected to the app’s U.S. users, and then “certify in writing” to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States “that such destruction of data is complete.”

TikTok has also sued the Trump administration over one of the orders, calling it "heavily politicized." China isn't happy with mergers between US companies and Chinese companies in tech either.

Last month China revised rules that regulate the sale of certain kinds of tech to foreign buyers. The updated list includes data processing, speech and text recognition — the kind of tech that used by TikTok.

While those notices did not call out TikTok or ByteDance directly, experts point out that this rule change would likely require ByteDance to get government permission before it could sell TikTok to a foreign company. Enter Oracle from stage left.

TikTok now agreeing to partner with Oracle raises eyebrows, Microsoft is face-planting...but who is Oracle exactly?

The Oracle Corporation is a multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Redwood Shores, California. The company sells database software and technology, cloud engineered systems, and enterprise software products—particularly its own brands of database management systems. In 2019, Oracle was the second-largest software company by revenue and market capitalization.

Larry Ellison is the executive chairman and CTO of Oracle and a big Trump supporter, did that play into TikTok's decision to choose Oracle in the bidding war, as a "trusted technological partner"?

What does that even mean? No one is answering that question, Oracle & Tiktok remain silent on what their partnership actually is. Oracle's owner has ties with the president which makes things even weirder.

Larry Ellison is one of the tech industry's most well-known Trump supporters. In February 2020, he hosted a fundraising event for the president that made some of Oracle's workers to stage a walkout in protest. That wasn't the only thing Oracle has done that was called into question.

Larry Ellison Credit: Wikipedia


Oracle has had it's fair share of controversy. Trashgate is one that caught the headlines when Oracle hired an East Coast detective agency to investigate groups that supported rival Microsoft Corporation during its antitrust trial.

The investigation revealed Oracle made a $1,200 offer to janitors at the Association for Competitive Technology to look through Microsoft's trash.

And in 2011 Oracle was under investigation by the US Department of Justice, the SEC and the FBI for bribery in West and Central Africa.

West African countries such as Cote d'Ivoire are economically vulnerable and create a vortex of social pressure for anyone doing business there.

Under conditions of weak local enforcement and weak internal controls, companies can equally be pressured to succumb to bribing which is normal there.

What's more concerning is how fragile Oracle's own security is especially given the context of Trump's executive order and TikTok's current law suits against them for stealing data and selling it to private buyers.

In 2002, Oracle Corporation marketed many of its products using the slogan "Can't break it, can't break in", or "Unbreakable."

Yet, two weeks after its introduction, David Litchfield, Alexander Kornbrust, Cesar Cerrudo and others demonstrated a whole suite of successful attacks against Oracle products.

Where does that leave TikTok if their 'technology partner' is known for having weak security?

Chinese State-Owned media on Monday pointedly reported that ByteDance wouldn't sell TikTok's US operations to Microsoft or Oracle.

State broadcaster CGTN also commented ByteDance won't "give the source code" to any US buyers. Another question is how can Tiktok or rivals continue to be profitable?

Let's talk market viability, ByteDance stated the AI-powered algorithm behind TikTok -- arguably the app's greatest asset -- isn't going to be part of the deal, according to the South China Morning Post.

That begs the question as well, does Tiktok have a lock on their type of social media?

Does Instagram Reels have a chance to fill in the vacuum here?

With Oracle's purchase of TikTok my next big question is how janky will the transition be and will it interrupt the market power TikTok has commandeered so far to make rival companies, like Instagram with their billion size user base, have a chance with Reels?

Reels provides all the trappings of TikTok, built directly into the Instagram camera but doesn't have the same AI.

I think the success of Reels depends also on the marketability of being able to get discovered using it versus the hashtag battle ground of being seen if you aren't already a big time influencer.

Have you used Reels yet? I'm going to try it out this week. What are your thoughts about the 'partnership' between Oracle and TikTok?

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Trevor W. Goodchild