NEW YORK President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he has given his “blessing” to a proposed deal between Oracle and Walmart for the US operations of TikTok, the Chinese-owned app he is targeting for national security and data privacy concerns.
Trump said the proposed deal will result in a new company that will likely be based in Texas.
“I have given my blessing to the deal,” he said. “If they do, that’s great. If they don’t, that’s okay too.”
Trump said the new company will hire at least 25,000 people and make a $ 5 billion contribution to a fund dedicated to educating Americans. “That is the contribution I have been asking for,” he said.
“We are pleased that the proposal from TikTok, Oracle, and Walmart will resolve the security concerns of the US Administration and resolve doubts about the future of TikTok in the US,” TikTok said in a statement.
TikTok said that both Oracle and Walmart will participate in a financing round in which they can acquire up to a 20% accumulated stake in the company. The agreement will make Oracle responsible for hosting all TikTok user data in the US and protecting computer systems to ensure that US national security requirements are met. TikTok said it is also working with Walmart on a “trade association” but gave no other details.
Representatives for Oracle and Walmart could not be immediately reached for comment Saturday night.
Trump has been demanding that TikTok, a popular video app among young people, be sold to an American company or else shut down its operations in that country. It has also been targeting WeChat, another Chinese-owned app. The dispute over the two apps is the latest flash point in the mounting tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Just a day earlier, the US Department of Commerce said it would ban TikTok from US app stores late on Sunday. Other restrictions that would prevent TikTok from accessing essential Internet services in the country would take effect on November 12. The agreement Trump signed would allow TikTok’s operations in the United States to continue to operate.
The Commerce Department is imposing similar restrictions on WeChat, though all restrictions on WeChat will go into effect Sunday night at 11:59 p.m.
Earlier Saturday, WeChat users asked a US judge to block movements targeting the app, saying they would restrict freedom of expression. WeChat is an all-in-one application with instant messaging, social media, and other communication tools. The US government argued that it is not restricting freedom of expression because WeChat users are still “free to speak on alternative platforms that do not pose a threat to national security.”
The aggressive tactics are part of Trump’s latest attempt to counter the influence of China, a rising economic superpower. Since taking office in 2017, Trump has waged a trade war with China, blocked mergers involving Chinese companies and stifled the business of Chinese companies such as Huawei, a maker of telecommunications and telecommunications equipment.
Meanwhile, Chinese-backed hackers have been accused of data breaches of US federal databases and Equifax credit bureau, and the Chinese government strictly limits what US tech companies they can do in China.
China’s Ministry of Commerce condemned the US measures and urged it to stop what it called bullying behavior. He also said China could take “necessary measures” to protect Chinese companies.
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