Oracle and TikTok Struck a Deal. What It Is, None Will Say

By MATT O'BRIEN and TALI ARBEL

The short-video app TikTok has chosen Oracle as its corporate savior to avoid a U.S. ban ordered by President Donald Trump.

The U.S. government will review the prospective deal. That much is known. Everything else is confusion, at least to outsiders.

Will the U.S. and Chinese companies form a joint venture, or is Oracle just acquiring TikTok as a customer? Will President Trump like this arrangement? Will it avert Trump's attempt to ban TikTok? Does it address the national-security concerns Trump raised around potential data siphoning by Beijing?

Experts say the whole process has been a mess.