The White House says it’s a win for national security. Billionaires say it’s a good investment. But Trump’s new deal looks more like an attack on the feeds of the 170 million Americans who use TikTok.
Trump isn’t just changing technology by handing TikTok to two of his closest allies, Larry Ellison of Oracle and Marc Andreessen, a venture capitalist. He is handing his friends the keys to the country’s most powerful propaganda machine. So, will TikTok’s future be about data protection or controlling what people think?
The China Threat Was a Smokescreen
Washington warned for years that China was spying on Americans through TikTok. Trump himself said he would ban it.
Yet, the so-called “fix” doesn’t leave Beijing out. ByteDance still owns up to 20% of TikTok and will let the U.S. version of the app use its algorithm. That means that the technology that lawmakers said was too risky will still be used by the new people in charge.
Despite this, D.C. is calm because the buyers are Trump’s billionaire backers. Ellison, who is worth $350 billion, publicly planned with Trump to overturn the 2020 election. Andreessen has given millions of dollars to Trump’s campaign.
There may have been a real China threat, but the solutions seem to be to trade Beijing’s power for MAGA’s megaphone.
From Social Media to State Media
The recommendation engine, which chooses which videos go viral and which ones don’t, is TikTok’s secret sauce. With the new deal, that power goes to a board made up mostly of Trump supporters, plus one seat chosen by the government.
This isn’t just happening in isolation. Ellison’s son already runs CBS and wants to take over CNN, too. If Trump adds TikTok to his circle, it could soon change how millions of people get their news, entertainment, and political information.
So, it’s likely that a Trump-aligned billionaire family will control CBS News, CNN, and TikTok. If that happens, it’s nothing more than state media with a Silicon Valley filter. If all goes according to Trump’s plan, TikTok could become a tool for political control instead of a way to voice your opinion.
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