TikTok to sell U.S. operations to Oracle after Microsoft rejection
TikTok operations in the United States are set to be taken over by Oracle, after the company beat out Microsoft in a highly-publicised bidding war to save the social media phenomena following Trump’s threats to ban the app.
Last month, Donald Trump threatened to ban the app if it did not stop working with the platform’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance over national security and privacy concerns.
Trump gave the American operation an effective deadline of September 15th to sell part of the company to an American bidder.
Earlier today, Microsoft released a statement revealing that ByteDance had rejected their offer to buy TikTok’s US operations, leaving Oracle the sole contender in the race.
“We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users while protecting national security interests,” the statement read. “To do this, we would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, privacy, online safety and combating disinformation.”
As Associated Press reports, an unnamed source close to the deal has revealed that TikTok chose Oracle over Microsoft as the US tech partner needed to keep the video-sharing app alive in the U.S.
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has close ties to the Trump administration. Back in February, the tech exec hosted a fundraiser for the president at his estate in Rancho Mirage, California.
On August 18th, President Trump expressed that Oracle was “a great company” that “could handle” operating TikTok.
As SMH report, Dr Belinda Barnet, senior lecturer in media at Swinburne University, mused that Microsoft was TikTok’s obvious purchaser and a sale to Oracle was probably only born out of the companies close ties to the president.
“Microsoft is quite right they have the deepest pockets and the most experience in privacy and security functionality,” she said. “My immediate thought is that Oracle has won because it has close ties to the Trump administration. It is a large company but it has nowhere near the might and power of Microsoft. It is also a completely new direction for the company.”
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.