Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
Responsible Statecraft / September 27, 2025
Larry Ellison and a constellation of billionaires will finally get their way, buying the very app they wanted to kill a year ago for being too ‘pro-Palestinian’.
A year ago, powerful critics in Congress and the tech world were complaining that TikTok was promoting anti-Israel messaging and were suggesting it needed to be shut down.
Turns out it didn’t need to be eliminated. TikTok is a message force multiplier after all, and only requires, apparently, the right people to own it. Like Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, the second richest man in the world and the single biggest private donor of the Israeli Defense Forces, who has referred to the state of Israel as his own. He has direct stakes in a head spinning galaxy of news, television and Hollywood media companies, mainly through the recent Paramount Skydance Corporation takeover, a mega conglomerate now run by his son David Ellison (who is reportedly on the cusp of making vigilantly pro-Israel journalist Bari Weiss a top exec at newly-acquired CBS). Ellison the elder also is a major stakeholder in X and Tesla.
Add Rupert Murdoch, head of media conglomerate NewsCorp (Fox News), a perennial critic of “anti-Israel bias” in the media who in 2024 said Israel is “alone on the front line of Western democratic civilization.” Also Ellison’s right-hand at Oracle, Israeli-American Safra Catz, great friend of President Trump, who has traveled to Israel several times since Oct. 7, 2023 in support of its war and continued Oracle partnerships there, and in a July appearance in Israel told an an audience that “we (Oracle) are on the side of freedom. We are on the side of democracy.” She followed that with “some of the best people in the world are here in Israel, and there’s no question about that. And everyone knows it. Some of the big winners will be here. Mark my words.”
Throw into this mix billionaire Jeff Yass, a top GOP donor and current TikTok investor whose philanthropy is connected to a carousel of pro-Israel outfits that have funding ties to the IDF and AIPAC, plus explicitly anti-Muslim campaigns that among their issues, advocate for U.S. confrontation with Iran.
All of these individuals and more are reportedly part of a mega deal to buy TikTok for $14 billion. The details are here. Trump says the full roster of private U.S. investors (China’s Bytedance can only own a 20% stake) will be announced in a “matter of days.” But Forbes says Ellison’s “Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake and MGX, an AI-focused investment firm established by the government of Abu Dhabi” will have a whopping 40% stake in the new TikTok. Oracle is reportedly to get 15% and be named the app’s “security provider.”
The $14 billion deal is being called a “fire sale” by some observers who point out that Elon Musk paid triple that for Twitter in 2022. This highly suggests that this transaction is more about geopolitics and ideology rather than a financial gain for investors. Aside from its more than 1.5 billion regular users world-wide, TikTok has now become where 30% of Americans get their news. Now, not only will American companies like Oracle, which has numerous government tech contracts spanning defense, intelligence, and civilian agencies, have access to TikTok’s user data, it will also have control of the algorithms that manage the kind of news, the messaging and images, that all of those users see.
“This was not a fair-market transaction,” said Milton Mueller, a professor at Georgia Tech specializing in digital governance, in Newsweek. “It’s a politically determined restructuring.” Some might say, with the constellation of GOP and MAGA supporters in the reported investor mix, this has the makings of a new Trump-friendly megaphone. But it is so much more. In essence, like Safra Catz says, the big “winners” will be in Israel.
Kelley Beaucar Vlahos is the Editorial Director of Responsible Statecraft
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From pro-Israel billionaires to Abu Dhabi royals: meet the new owners of TikTok
Sarah Khalil
The New Arab / September 26, 2025
TikTok US was sold for $14bn to pro-Israel billionaires and Abu Dhabi royals, sparking fears of censorship of content about Gaza.
TikTok’s future in the US has finally been settled after years of legal battles, congressional hearings, and behind-the-scenes negotiations.
Under a new $14 billion deal brokered by President Donald Trump, the app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has been forced to spin off its US arm into a separate entity controlled by a consortium of American billionaires and Gulf royals.
On paper, the deal is about national security and data privacy; however, in practice, it appears to be about power and control of one of the most influential platforms for young people in the world, and how it will shape political narratives, particularly on Israel.
TikTok’s role in broadcasting images of Israel’s war on Gaza and the way that has shifted American public opinion has been central to the pressure campaign that forced this sale.
The new owners include some of the most prominent pro-Israel billionaires in the US, alongside a fund run by Abu Dhabi’s ruling family.
Why is TikTok being sold ?
The legal framework dates back to 2024, when Congress overwhelmingly passed a law requiring ByteDance to divest from TikTok’s US operations or face a nationwide ban. The Supreme Court upheld the law in January 2025.
Lawmakers presented the TikTok crackdown as a national security matter, citing fears that China could access sensitive data, but some observers said it was about controlling narratives on Israel following the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
The platform has been flooded with videos showing indiscriminate Israeli bombardment of the enclave, civilian casualties, especially children, and Gaza solidarity marches around the world – for the first time, raw Palestinian voices were reaching tens of millions of young Americans in real time.
By October-November 2023, members of Congress were explicitly targeting TikTok over its Gaza coverage, with Senators Josh Hawley and Marco Rubio, and Representative Mike Gallagher calling for banning the app, citing pro-Palestinian and “anti-Israel” content.
House Republicans, including Cathy McMorris Rodgers, demanded transparency from TikTok over alleged “antisemitic and pro-Hamas” content.
The Wall Street Journal reported in December 2023 that anger over Gaza videos was one of the key drivers of the new push to ban TikTok. Senator Hawley explicitly pointed to “anti-Israel content” as a reason to outlaw the app.
In September 2024, a detailed summary of lawmakers’ accusations circulated in Washington, alleging TikTok’s algorithm was “biased against Israel”.
What are the terms of the deal ?
Trump signed an executive order in September 2025 outlining the divestiture. Under the deal, ByteDance will retain less than 20 percent ownership, while American investors will control just over 65 percent.
Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX together will hold about 45 percent.
All US user data will be stored domestically on Oracle’s cloud infrastructure. Oracle will also license TikTok’s recommendation engine, cutting off Beijing’s access.
Governance of TikTok US will fall to a seven-member board, six of whom are Americans with cybersecurity and national security backgrounds, alongside one seat for MGX.
The new entity is valued at $14 billion, far below ByteDance’s $330 billion global worth. Trump hailed the agreement as a win for US sovereignty, telling reporters: “This is going to be American-operated all the way.”
Oracle’s links to Israel
- Under CEO Safra Catz, Oracle shown strong support for Israel politically, economically, and militarily
- Catz, an Israeli-American, has publicly stated that employees who do not support Israel have no place at Oracle
- Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has longstanding personal, financial links to Israel, including ties with politicians
- Oracle donates military equipment to Israel and financially supports Israeli campaigns, including Friends of the IDF
- It has partnerships with Israeli ministries and military, including involvement in AI, cloud projects used by military
- Inside Oracle, there has been reports of suppression of pro-Palestinian voices and activism
- Oracle’s investments in Israel include underground data centre in Jerusalem
Who are TikTok’s new owners ?
The new owners of TikTok US include a mix of powerful tech figures, media moguls, and investment firms.
Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, leads the consortium. Oracle already managed TikTok’s US data and will now oversee its cloud systems and algorithm.
Ellison is also one of the most generous private donors to Israeli forces in the world. Oracle has collaborated with Israel on surveillance and defence projects, including in the occupied West Bank and in Gaza, and Ellison is said to have cultivated ties with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the years.
Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, who control Fox News, the New York Post, and much of News Corp’s global empire, are confirmed investors.
Their media outlets have been criticised for consistently defending Israel and attacking pro-Palestinian activism, raising questions about whether their influence over TikTok could further shape how content is curated or censored.
Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, is also among the new owners. His company has supplied Israel’s military and security sector with hardware, data, and AI capabilities, often through Israeli startups.
Dell himself has been a strong supporter of Israeli tech ventures and his company was mentioned in a report by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese as one of the corporate actors allegedly profiting from the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Another key stakeholder is MGX, the investment fund chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the UAE’s national security adviser and brother of President Mohammed bin Zayed.
MGX will take a 15 percent stake and a board seat, positioning Abu Dhabi as a global tech investor closely aligned with US and Israel, with whom the UAE normalised relations in 2020.
The Silicon Valley private equity firm Silver Lake is also part of the investor group, bringing additional Wall Street influence to the deal.
Together, Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX will control nearly half of TikTok US.
How does this connect to Gaza and Israel ?
TikTok’s prominence during the Gaza war was not incidental; it is said to be a central reason to why Washington moved so forcefully against the app.
With ownership now in the hands of figures and institutions closely tied to Israel, many warn of heightened censorship of Palestinian voices, particularly after US lawmakers accused it of spreading “pro-Hamas” and “anti-Israel” narratives to young Americans.
Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have already documented widespread removal of such content on Meta and other platforms, and fear TikTok could follow the same path under its new leadership. The app that once amplified Gaza’s suffering may now be reshaped to silence news from there.
What does China get out of this ?
Despite early resistance, Beijing ultimately allowed the divestiture. Trump said he spoke directly with Xi Jinping, who gave the “go ahead”.
China’s top negotiator Li Chengang confirmed the deal, while warning against broader “suppression” of Chinese firms.
While ByteDance will retain a 19.9 percent stake in TikTok US, its effective control is gone.
Will TikTok change for users ?
For ordinary users, little may change immediately. The app will still recommend videos across entertainment, culture, and politics. Trump even joked that he wished it were “100% MAGA-related”, before saying all groups would be treated fairly.
The real shift will come in moderation. With Ellison, the Murdochs, Dell, and MGX at the helm, TikTok is expected to align more tightly with Washington’s political establishment and with Israel’s interests.
Palestinian content, already targeted, may face even steeper suppression.
Why does this matter ?
TikTok has 180 million US users, most of them under 40. They are the demographic most critical of Israel’s war on Gaza, with polls showing disapproval of the war at nearly double approval rates.
The sale shows how a youth-driven platform that became a megaphone for Palestinians was turned into a geopolitical bargaining chip and handed to investors whose fortunes and politics are closely tied to Israel.
Trump presented it as a national security victory. But for many, it looks like a strategic takeover designed to rein in one of the few digital spaces where Palestinians found global visibility.
Sarah Khalil is a news editor and senior journalist at The New Arab
