Citizen Ellison: A vision of a world covered in cameras

In an era when informacije determine our understanding of reality, and power is increasingly reflected through the management of data and communication platforms, Larry Ellison (81), one of the richest people in the world, takes center stage in the new media- digital arrangement. Like Charles Foster Kane from the Orson Welles film classic or William Randolph Hearst from real life, the owner of the technology giant Oracle not only already has enormous power, but aspires to further reshape and dominate the American and even the global media scene.

Larry Ellison and his family invest in strategic media acquisitions that grow into one of the most influential media empires in history SAD-a. Just as "Citizen Kane" once shaped the course of journalism, today this mogul is emerging as the central figure of a new digital era — in which power, technology and the media merge into an inseparable whole, redefining the way information is created and controlled.

Media concentration

The Ellisons, as owners of Skydance Media, have significantly expanded their influence in the media industry over the past year. In an $8 billion deal, Skydance Media and Paramount Global have reached an agreement to merge, creating a new corporation — Paramount Skydance Corporation — with a combined value of approximately $28 billion. With this merger, the Ellison family practically took control of one of the largest media companies in the US, which includes the famous Hollywood studio, streaming platforms, the influential CBS network, then MTV, Comedy Central, Showtime, Nickelodeon and many other channels.

The technology magnate, through his company Oracle and related investment funds, recently participated in investing in American operations. TikTokLeaf New York Times states that Ellison intends to "make the world a better place" by advocating total surveillance of society, "in which cameras would be placed everywhere" and artificial intelligence would monitor and analyze every movement. "Citizens will behave as best they can, because we are constantly filming and reporting on everything that is happening," he said recently.

Although he has entered his ninth decade of life, this entrepreneur, whose net worth Forbes magazine estimates at $350 billion, is planning an even bigger strategic venture: a potential takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. His son David Ellison, who is leading negotiations with large private investment funds about a possible joint takeover of the media giant Warner Bros., is involved in the business. According to the media, this mega-deal could be worth more than 60 billion dollars, which would further expand the Ellison family's influence by including major media brands such as CNN, HBO and the Discovery channel in its existing portfolio.

Criticisms and concerns

A number of analysts warn that Ellison's increasing control over the media and digital space could lead to the creation of a new monopoly, similar to those once enjoyed by "industrial dynasties like the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers." Precisely because of that enormous influence in the USA, the magazine Wired he called him a "shadow president". Ellison, by the way, has recently been an increasingly frequent guest at the White House, a Donald tramp he publicly praised him, calling him an "exceptional man and businessman." It is no coincidence that he was with the president when he announced the project Stargate - an ambitious $500 billion investment plan to build infrastructure for artificial intelligence in America.

In the context of increasing pressure from the White House on the media, the concerns of critics who fear that the American president, with the support of technology tycoons, could influence the way his administration and implemented policies are reported are becoming louder.

"The Ellisons taking over both CBS and CNN, while also controlling a major social network like TikTok, is a danger to democracy. And given their closeness to the Trump regime, that seems to be the goal," media watchdog FAIR recently warned, citing BBC.

TikTok in focus

The most high-profile and media-covered acquisition these days is the takeover of all operations of the TikTok platform in the United States of America. The popular video app, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has come under pressure from the Donald Trump administration over concerns that the Chinese government could have access to US users' data.

In order to preserve national security, the White House made a decision to sell the American part of TikTok, that is, to separate its assets from the global platform, which opened up space for domestic companies to enter. Among the most prominent is the inevitable Larry Ellison, who, together with partners from the private equity and technology investment sectors, will take control of TikTok in the US market.

Perhaps TikTok's most important asset, its recommendation algorithm, will be located and operated within the US, overseen by Oracle, which will manage security operations and provide cloud infrastructure for the new business entity. The move gives Ellison's company access to vast amounts of user data and the algorithms that shape content on the platform, which is also key to controlling the public narrative. Almost 170 million people use TikTok in America alone, and research shows that one in five Americans regularly follows the news through this platform.

State sector and political influence

Larry Ellison has been in Silicon Valley longer than any other influential businessman in the technology sector. Back in 1977, together with two colleagues, he founded the company Software Development Laboratories (SDL), which was later renamed Oracle infrastructures — by its key product, a database developed on behalf of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This event marked the beginning of many years of cooperation with US government institutions, including the Air Force and the Army. That relationship with the government and intelligence sectors was key to Oracle's rise as a global leader in data management technology. Today, this company has more than 160.000 employees worldwide.

Also, Ellison invests not only in technology and media, but also in politics, funding candidates and groups from all sides of the American political spectrum — both Republicans and Democrats — for decades. By the way, he describes himself as a political "centrist". It's no secret that Ellison is the largest single donor to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which further illuminates the relationship he and his entourage have with that country.

After all, Oracle CEO Safra Katz recently bluntly stated, "For employees, it's clear — if you're not for the US or Israel, you shouldn't be working here."

Redefining power

Celebrated as a visionary in the tech world, today Ellison is a heavyweight in the media world as well — so influential that even Rupert Murdoch, that old wolf of the media industry, now seems like a lightweight by comparison. The control it exerts over key media houses and digital platforms in the US represents a turning point in the way public opinion and political narratives are shaped for decades to come.

Such a concentration of power in the hands of one individual justifiably raises questions about the future of media freedom, pluralism and transparency in the digital era. After all, the title of one of the biographical books dedicated to him, indicatively titled: The difference between God and Larry Ellison: God doesn't think he's Larry Ellison.

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