While President Trump has previously threatened an executive order that could have led to a full ban on video sharing platform TikTok, the national security concern behind the widespread usage of the app is seemingly coming to an end. Trump has agreed to a new deal (via Reuters) for both Wal-Mart and Oracle to manage TikTok within the USA.
The new deal will oversee the formation of a new company to wholly oversee TikTok’s operations within the United States, with both Oracle and Wal-Mart in control of said company. “I have given the deal my blessing,” Trump said. “I approve the deal in concept.”
TikTok was created and launched by ByteDance, a Beijing-based technology company. As with any China-based company, U.S. officials have been concerned over data privacy with users on the app, as the Chinese government has been found to continually get backdoor access to many apps and companies within the country’s borders.
“The security will be 100%,” Trump added. The new company will be “totally controlled by Oracle and Walmart…. All of the control is Oracle and Walmart.”
Reportedly, the new company will be called TikTok Global, and will have a majority of American directors, as well as a U.S. chief executive and a security expert. Furthermore, the new company will also be hiring some 25,000 jobs.
ByteDance will still have a stake in the company, but they’ve agreed to “significant” security safeguards on the data of U.S. users, with Oracle managing their data and ByteDance inspecting the source code.
Despite all of the planning and such, the Chinese government still has to approve the entire deal. “We’ll see whether or not it all happens,” Trump noted.
