Security News > 2023 > May > TikTok to let Oracle view source code, algorithm and content-moderation

TikTok, the social video platform used by around 150 million people in the US, is set to hand access to its source code, algorithm and content-moderation material to Oracle in a bid to allay data protection and national security concerns stateside.

Oracle's association with TikTok stems from efforts under the Trump administration to force owner ByteDance to sell the US stake to an American company.

Concerns around TikTok have continued: Earlier this month, Montana became the first American state to finally ban downloads of TikTok in its jurisdiction.

As of July last year, TikTok was making an effort to minimize the amount of data from US users that gets transferred outside of America, even though some China-based employees with sufficient security clearance could access data from US TikTok users, including public videos and comments.

In a statement TikTok said: "While our conversations with the federal government are ongoing, many of the major components of Project Texas are already operational, and we will continue bringing more parts of the initiative online in the coming weeks and months. This includes completing the process of deleting historical protected US user data from our own servers and granting full access to Oracle for source code review, monitoring the controlled gateways where data comes in and out of the secure environment, content assurance, and more."

The company said Project Texas had cost $1.5 billion over two years and was designed to ensure "Every American on TikTok feel safe, with confidence that their data is secure and the platform is free from outside influence".

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/05/23/tiktok_offers_oracle_view_of/