TikTok Nears Deal With Oracle To Resolve US Data Security Fears
Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.
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TikTok is reportedly close to a deal that would resolve U.S. national security concerns over its ownership by Chinese tech firm ByteDance, by storing all of the video-sharing app’s U.S. user data with American software giant Oracle.
ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of Culver City-based TikTok, would not be able to access U.S. user information under the potential deal, Reuters reported on Thursday. Such an agreement could potentially end a year-and-a-half long saga that began with the Trump Administration’s concerns that American data could be accessed by China’s government.
Former President Donald Trump sought to force a sale of the hugely popular social media startup and even tried to ban TikTok from U.S. app stores. Alongside Walmart, Oracle was lined up to partner with TikTok in September 2020 in a deal that promised to assuage U.S. security concerns.
A U.S. government panel is now in “advanced talks” with TikTok over the proposed Oracle partnership, Axios reported on Friday. Representatives for TikTok and Oracle did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.
