TikTok looks set to dodge its US ban after a deal between American-owned companies Walmart and Oracle receives Trump’s tick of approval.
TikTok has avoided its imminent US ban with the help of a last-minute deal between Walmart and Oracle.
US President Donald Trump has given the deal his blessing and stated that it resolves security concerns, despite the fact that Chinese company ByteDance still retains a large share.
After months of back-and-forthing surrounding the future of social media platform TikTok in the US due to security concerns, its ban was set to come into effect yesterday. However, an eleventh-hour deal between Walmart and Oracle has seemingly kept the app afloat.
The deal will see Oracle and Walmart create a joint entity called TikTok Global whose headquarters will be located in the United States. ByteDance, the app’s original owner, will reportedly retain a majority share in the company, prompting some doubt as to whether these changes will actually resolve security concerns. Under the new arrangement, Oracle will host all US user data.
Whilst the deal has not been finalised, the ban has now been temporarily postponed for one week in order to give the negotiations more time.
“I have given the deal my blessing,” Trump told reporters. “I approve the deal in concept.”
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According to Trump, one of the conditions of the deal was that $5 billion from the sale of the company would go towards a “patriotic education” initiative which would teach American youth the “the real history of our country ― the real history, not the fake history.”
However, it has since come out that ByteDance were reportedly unaware of the education fund.
