Despite Oracle Corp. confirming today that it had signed on as a “trusted technology partner” with ByteDance Ltd. for popular short video sharing app TikTok, the deal remains in doubt given that it did not include Oracle purchasing TikTok U.S.

Exactly what “trusted technology partner” means in terms of the deal remains a mystery, a mystery not helped by Oracle only publishing a one-paragraph statement on the deal. As the BBC noted, full details of the tie-up have yet to be disclosed. Although both companies are entitled not to disclose those details, this isn’t a typical private deal but rather one with geopolitical considerations.

What is known is that the deal between ByteDance and Oracle for TikTok U.S. doesn’t involve Oracle outright purchasing the operations of TikTok in the U.S. Given that is the case, any deal between the two companies is still subject to the Trump administration executive order that TikTok will in effect be banned as of Nov. 12 if not sold. that is, unless Oracle can convince the administration that the deal as it stands addresses national security concerns.

Given that TikTok and its alleged Chinese government spying has become a cause celebre, politicians were quick to give their two cents worth on the Oracle deal. Senator Josh Hawley called on the Treasury Department to reject the TikTok Oracle deal on national security grounds.

The forthcoming ban, while imposed by a Trump executive order, is subject to the control of the Treasury Department. The app itself won’t be directly banned, but transactions with the app could be. Further oversight on the deal also comes from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

“CFIUS should promptly reject any Oracle-ByteDance collaboration and send the ball back to ByteDance’s court so that the company can come up with a more acceptable solution,” Hawley said. “ByteDance can still pursue a full sale of TikTok, its code and its algorithm to a U.S. company so that the app can be rebuilt from the ground up to remove any trace of CCP influence.”

The form of the ban remains subject to some speculation, in particular what banned “transactions” mean. It’s presumed that at the very least it may entail advertisers not being able to advertise on the app, but it won’t include ByteDance not being able to pay employees, according to a court filing from the Trump administration on Monday.

According to CNET, the administration said in a filing in the Northern California District Court that it has sent assurances to Patrick Ryan, the plaintiff in a lawsuit against the ban, that it doesn’t intend for employee paychecks or other benefits to be affected by the order. Employees will also not be considered to be violating the order by doing their jobs, the filing stated.

Despite the agreement between Oracle and ByteDance, a partial acquisition of TikTok U.S. might still be in play, with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also said to be involved in talks. CNBC reported that ByteDance is continuing to have discussions with both Oracle and Walmart for stakes in the U.S. business, quoting people familiar with the matter.

But the sale will not be for 100% of TikTok U.S. Notably, the same report said a deal was nearly completed for a full sale several weeks ago but fell apart at the 11th hour after the Chinese government pushed back on it.

On a day the New York Stock Exchange rose 1.25%, shares in Oracle rose 4.3% in regular trading, to $59.46. That’s their highest price so far this year.

Photo: Solen Feyissa/Flickr