WASHINGTON: President of the United States. Donald trump said he supports an agreement that will allow Tik Tok to continue operating in the United States, after threatening to ban the Chinese-owned app in August.
He told reporters at the White House that he supports the deal with Oracle and Walmart that would see the creation of a new company that will take over TikTok’s operations in the United States. Trump said the new TikTok company will be “fully controlled by Oracle and Walmart … All control is Oracle and Walmart.”
Trump offered strong support for the deal that he said would create 25,000 jobs in the United States. “I’ve given my blessing to the deal,” Trump said. “I approve the deal in concept.”
Approximately 100 million Americans use TikTok, and US officials have raised concerns about user data and the potential for China to access that data.
“Security will be 100%,” Trump told reporters.
Reuters reported Thursday that the new company, called TikTok GlobalIt will have a majority of US directors, a US CEO and a security expert on the board.
Oracle and Walmart are expected to take significant equity stakes and ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, has agreed to significant security safeguards on US user data, Oracle hosts all data and gets the right to inspect the TikTok source code.
TikTok, Oracle and Walmart had no immediate comment.
The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a question Saturday about whether it will rescind an order set to take effect Sunday night that would bind Alphabet Inc. Google and Apple Inc to offer TikTok in its US app stores.
Trump expressed his annoyance this week that he was told by government attorneys that he was not allowed to demand a “portion” of the TikTok sale price for the Treasury.
He said there would be a $ 5 billion American education fund as part of the deal. “That is the contribution I have been asking for,” Trump said.
He said the new company is most likely incorporated in Texas and has at least 25,000 employees.
China has yet to approve the deal. “We’ll see if it all happens or not,” Trump said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott previously said on Twitter that he had spoken to Trump about the deal. “I let him know that if he approves the deal, Texas would be the perfect location for the headquarters,” Abbott said.
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