U.S President Donald Trump on Sunday, 20 September, said that he will support the deal that will allow TikTok to continue to operate in the United States. This announcement comes after Trump had threatened to ban the Chinese-owned app in August.
While briefing the media, Trump stated that he supports the deal with TikTok owner ByteDance, Oracle and Walmart to create a new company that will assume TikTok's U.S. operations called TikTok Global, reported Reuters.
The new deal will give Oracle and other investors minority ownership of a new company called TikTok Global still needs approval from regulators in China, reported Bloomberg Quint.
The statement by the US Treasury said: “Oracle will be responsible for key technology and security responsibilities to protect all U.S. user data. Approval of the transaction is subject to a closing with Oracle and Walmart and necessary documentation and conditions to be approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States”.
Shareholders in the US are expected to control 53% of TikTok Global, while Chinese investors will hold 36%. Whereas, Oracle said it will take a 12.5% stake in TikTok Global.
Donald Trump had on 14 August asked TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to divest the US operation of the app within 90 days, citing national security reasons. Trump had claimed that TikTok is a threat to national security and has close ties to the Chinese government.
TikTok sued the United States government on 24 August, accusing it of depriving the platform of due process when President Trump issued an executive order to block it from operating in the country.
(With inputs from Reuters and Bloomberg Quint)
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