Ellison’s Oracle poised to run TikTok, raising hopes for tougher rules against antisemitism

By ASAF ELIA-SHALEV

(JTA) — American Jewish leaders have blamed Tiktok for allowing antisemitism to spread among young people and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently accused China of using the platform to promote anti-Israel sentiment around the world — a charge China denies.

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison speaks during a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The allegations form a backdrop to the high-stakes negotiations over TikTok’s future in the United States that may be finally heading to a resolution. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Thursday that Beijing has green-lit a multi-billion dollar deal that would bring the social media platform’s operations in the United States under American control.

“In Kuala Lumpur, we finalized the TikTok agreement in terms of getting Chinese approval, and I would expect that would go forward in the coming weeks and months, and we’ll finally see a resolution to that,” Bessent told Fox Business following a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The deal follows a law passed last year requiring China-based ByteDance to sell or face a ban of the app, which U.S. officials have called a national-security risk.

Details of the agreement have not been released, but the White House has previously said that a consortium of U.S. investors led by Oracle Corporation — whose co-founder, Larry Ellison, is a longtime supporter of Jewish causes and of Israel — would acquire a controlling stake in the app.

For the leader of one of the largest and most broadly representative Jewish groups in the country, these developments are hopeful.

“At the Jewish Federations of North America, we are optimistic about this moment,” JFNA CEO Eric Fingerhut said Tuesday while moderating a panel on the deal at the organization’s Washington headquarters. “Frankly, the part that makes us the most optimistic is the parties that seem to be associated with the deal on the American side, especially Oracle and Larry Ellison personally, who’s been such a strong supporter of our community.”

Also on the panel was social media expert Sarah O’Quinn, the U.S. director for public affairs at Center for Countering Digital Hate, who said she shared Fingerhut’s optimism that TikTok’s new owners would take steps to lessen the spread of antisemitism on the platform.

“This change in leadership — are they going to improve their policy?” O’Quinn asked rhetorically. “I think that’s probably true based on… the broad support coming from Ellison and Oracle on that [issue].”

Ellison, who was raised in a Reform Jewish household, briefly topped the list of richest people this year amid the surge in the value of tech stocks linked to the artificial intelligence boom. He has donated millions to Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, among other Israel-related causes and is reportedly close to Netanyahu. He says his affinity for Israel comes from his appreciation for the country’s record of tech innovation and resilience.

Ellison’s views in the debate over whether online hate speech should be countered with content moderation and policies restricting user expression are unknown. He became a major investor in Twitter when Elon Musk took over the platform, changed its name to X and altered its rules in a way that has allowed Neo-Nazis and other antisemites to gain a wide reach.

During the panel, Fingerhut said that even while it became clear that antisemitism was a problem on TikTok, JFNA was the only Jewish group that lobbied for the bill that would force its sale.

He revealed internal concerns at the time that JFNA’s involvement could activate antisemitic tropes about Jewish power in politics.

“We asked ourselves that question when we were making the decision about whether to get involved,” he said. “Is this going to undermine the bill because it’ll become a target of … ‘here comes the Jewish community seeking to attack this company.”

He said JFNA ultimately decided to enter the fray because it was a severe case, and an opportunity to hold lawmakers to their commitment to fighting antisemitism.

Panelists offered varying levels of optimism about TikTok’s future but there was a consensus that the new owners should strive for cooperation and transparency with users and advocates over antisemitism and other forms of harm.

Daniel Kelley of the Center for Technology and Society at the Anti-Defamation League noted that the company has already become increasingly responsive, saying that his colleagues are now meeting with TikTok trust and safety staff on a monthly basis.

Quinn added that the best tool advocates have to influence social media companies in the absence of government regulation is public pressure.

“The most important thing as Americans and people who represent communities across the country is to make sure that you’re sharing stories about how social media has harmed you or your family,” she said.