- US President Donald Trump has ‘saved’ TikTok in the US
- Oracle will play a major role in securing TikTok’s US data
US President Donald Trump has ‘saved’ TikTok from being shut down in the US and protected national security at the same time, the White House announced late on Thursday.
TikTok is owned by Chinese digital services giant ByteDance, but the US operation of the short video application giant is to have its own ownership structure and operations, with Oracle set to play a major role.
“TikTok’s United States application will be operated by a newly established joint venture based in the United States,” stated Trump (who has 15 million followers on his personal TikTok account) in an executive order.
“It will be majority-owned and controlled by United States persons and will no longer be controlled by any foreign adversary, since ByteDance Ltd and its affiliates will own less than 20% of the entity, with the remainder being held by certain investors (Investor Parties). This new joint venture will be run by a new board of directors and subject to rules that appropriately protect Americans’ data and our national security. Accordingly, I have determined that the proposed divestiture would allow the millions of Americans who enjoy TikTok every day to continue using it while also protecting national security.”
In a fact sheet about the move, the White House noted that “President Trump found a solution for the 170 million Americans who use TikTok, ensuring users will be able to safely enjoy the same global TikTok experience and view content from around the world with the confidence that their data is secure in the United States.”
It also mentioned that “Oracle – one of the nation’s leading technology companies – will act as TikTok’s security provider and independently monitor and assure the safety of all operations in the US.”
The White House added: “The proposed divestiture resolves the national security concerns and complies with the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (Act) by removing TikTok in the United States from China’s control. The divestiture puts the operation of the algorithm, code and content moderation decisions under the control of the new joint venture. The divestiture prohibits the storage of sensitive US user data in a manner that would allow such data to be under the control of a foreign adversary. All US user data will be stored in a trusted, secure and purpose-built cloud environment in the United States run by Oracle. The divestiture includes intense monitoring of software updates, the algorithm and data flows, and it requires all recommendation models, including algorithms, that use US user data to be retrained and monitored by America’s trusted security partners. This ensures US content is free from improper manipulation.”
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According to Reuters, Oracle and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners are among a group of US investors that will jointly hold a roughly 50% stake in TikTok US, while existing ByteDance investors will hold about another 30% and ByteDance will hold a stake of less than 20%, as required by US law.
The financial news agency also noted US vice president JD Vance stated that, for the purposes of the divestment, TikTok US has been valued at about $14bn, though Reuters noted this is some way below Wall Street analyst estimates.
– TelecomTV Staff
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