TikTok Partners With Oracle
US President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok on September 15th, 2020 if it wasn’t sold to a US-based technology company. President Trump was concerned that the China-owned app posed a national security threat.
Trump’s tight deadline left TikTok scrambling to find a buyer. After some deliberation, Oracle managed to knock the Microsoft-Walmart team out of the race, and subsequently became the winner of the intense bid-off.
But despite Oracle reaching an agreement with TikTok, the deal isn’t much of a sale. Oracle released a statement to PR Newswire, and said it would be serving as TikTok’s “trusted technology partner.”
This means that Oracle probably won’t be taking over TikTok. The app will still retain its addicting recommendation algorithm that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, refuses to give up. As it stands, it seems that Oracle will simply act as TikTok’s security partner.
A TikTok spokesperson commented on the Oracle partnership to CNBC, saying:
At this time of writing, the partnership still needs to be approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
What Does Oracle’s Involvement Mean for TikTok?
TikTok has found a way around a full-blown sale, and is instead opting for a partnership. By teaming up with Oracle, TikTok can use the tech company as a buffer. This means that TikTok probably won’t face as much backlash from the US government, and it may be able to leave its alleged data-stealing reputation in the past.
