Chinese-owned short-video app TikTok has been saved from being banned from Apple and Google storefronts, App Store and Play Store, at least for a week after "recent positive developments" as the company is in talks with Oracle and Walmart.
TikTok Deal With Oracle
According to a Business Insider report, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross has confirmed the ban's postponement via an official statement given this Saturday, Sept. 19.
"In light of recent positive developments, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, at the direction of President Trump, will delay the prohibition of identified transactions pursuant to Executive Order 13942, related to the TikTok mobile application that would have been effective on Sunday, Sept. 20, to 27, at 11:59 p.m.," the announcement read.
Based on the report, the announcement has been made the same day as the U.S. President Donald J. Trump "gave his blessing" for TikTok to deal with Oracle.
On the same day, the U.S. tech giant has also announced that it will be a minority investor with a 12.5% stake in TikTok's global business and make Oracle as the platform's secure cloud technology provider.
Working With a Partnership with Walmart
TikTok has confirmed Oracle's announcement, and also added that they are also currently working on a deal with Walmart.
According to the statement given out by the company, both Oracle and Walmart will take up a 20% cumulative stake in the company.
Moreover, TikTok has promised that they will be setting up a headquarters in the U.S., which should open up 25,000 jobs.
The last-minute deals were what saved TikTok, at least for a week.
The U.S. government under Trump has issued an announcement last on Friday, Sept. 18, that it would ban any new downloads of TikTok and WeChat on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store as part of their disagreement with China-based companies ByteDance and Tencent that owns the sites.
On the same day, TikTok has filed a complaint with the federal court, aiming to block the U.S. government from banning them.
Awaiting China's Approval
Nevertheless, the deal between TikTok, Walmart, and Oracle is final yet as the Chinese government's approval is required, so the fate of the company hasn't been set in stone yet.
However, the Chinese government seems to be in favor of TikTok as China's Ministry of Commerce has released a statement on Saturday, Sept. 19, accusing the U.S. government of bullying, saying, "If the U.S. insists on going its own way, China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies," as per The Guardian.
The feud between the U.S. government and TikTok began when reports have gone out, saying that the website takes information from its users and sends them over to the Chinese government.
Hacktivist group Anonymous has shared their sentiments regarding the issue, agreeing with the reports, and even calling the short-video app as a "Chinese malware," but the company has remained adamant that they haven't stolen or used any information against TikTok users in the United States.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by: Nhx Tingson
