It looks like TikTok won’t be banned in the US after all, with President Donald Trump giving his blessing to Oracle’s purchase of the US operations of the video-sharing platform.
After announcing earlier this summer that the Trump administration was planning to ban TikTok due to supposed National Security risks, it was believed the ban would come into effect this weekend, leaving millions of users upset at the prospect.
However, Trump has just overseen a deal that means TikTok will be able to continue in the US. Tech giant Oracle has formed a new company by the name of TikTok Global, with its headquarters to be based in Texas, which will apparently create around 25,000 jobs and, according to Trump, contribute $5 billion towards US education.
‘I have given the deal my blessing,’ Trump announced on Saturday, adding, ‘I approved the deal in concept.’ Although details of the deal are still vague and have not officially been moved forward, it appears the social media app has been spared banishment – as has WeChat – at the last possible moment.
It’s believed this eleventh-hour proposed deal will allow US users to continue to create TikTok content, but it’s important to note that while Trump has talked up a self-styled business deal, it is by no means sealed, and still requires foreign cooperation.
The Chinese government is required to sign off on the new terms and allow Oracle and, in turn, the US, to run part of the company in its own territory. It’s believed China will comply with the US’s terms as long as ByteDance is not required to transfer over artificial algorithms from Tik Tok itself.
In June, Trump was humiliated by the Tik Tok community when they reserved hundreds of thousands of tickets for his Tulsa rally and didn’t show up. This led the president and his advisors to believe record crowds were set to attend when, in reality, the numbers were low and many seats left empty, leaving some to speculate that his disdain for Tik Tok stems from said embarrassment.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
Source link : https://www.unilad.co.uk/life/donald-trump-approves-oracles-purchase-of-tiktok
