Technology company Oracle confirms reports of a business partnership with the controversial Chinese app TikTok in the US market. The details of the agreement are not yet known. The cooperation was formed in response to the ultimatum from the administration of Donald Trump.

 

Oracle beats Microsoft

Oracle's offer beat the one submitted by Microsoft, as we learned on Sunday night. The deal was struck practically at the last moment. The aim of the cooperation is to keep TikTok in the US. The shape of the agreement remains unclear. There is talk not of a sale but of a technology partnership between the two companies. Most likely, it concerns the storage of user data and shareholdings.

TikTok in the United States

TikTok in the United States

The technology war between Washington and Beijing has been going on for some time. After regulations that affected, among others, Tencent, Huawei, and smaller artificial intelligence start-ups, the Americans decided to take a closer look at the hugely popular app as well.

We know TikTok primarily for its short, viral videos, popular especially among the younger generation. However, the US government has concerns about the confidentiality of user data. Despite assurances from the app's owners that such information is not shared with the government of the People's Republic of China, the President of the United States already expressed his concern in July and announced that legal steps would be taken.

  • On August 6, the US president signed an executive order regulating the rules for the operation of the popular app.
  • A second order, signed on August 14, specified the terms of the tender, which must be approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
  • Donald Trump set September 15 as the final deadline for ByteDance, which owns TikTok, to find a partner for the US market.
  • On September 20, the executive order will come into force. As a result, US companies will not be able to establish business contacts with ByteDance.
  • The second order will be implemented on October 12 – ByteDance must withdraw its app's services from the United States.

 

 

Source: CNN, BBC, Reuters

Summary

Oracle will become TikTok's technology partner in the US, beating Microsoft in the tender. The agreement, concluded before the administration's deadline, is intended to ease the government's concerns about the security of user data. The key dates are September 20 and October 12, when successive restrictions on ByteDance come into force.