TikTok, Oracle Deal Put On Hold Indefinitely As Biden Administration Reviews Security Risks

Oracle and Walmart’s intended acquisition of TikTok’s US operations have been put on hold indefinitely, The WallStreet Journal has reported.  US President Joe Biden is said to be reviewing former President Trump’s efforts to address the potential security risks from Chinese tech companies.

TikTok had a tough 2020 after the former president thretened to ban the popular app from the United States, citing security risks. Following a number of executive orders, ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, was forced to find a US partner in rder to continue operating.

The Trump administration accused a number of Chinese tech companies of conspiracy, saying US citizens’ data was compromised. The allegations, which have so far remained hypothetical, were refuted by the video-making app.

Read: Oracle To Partner With TikTok To Run US Operations As Microsoft Bid Flops

TikTok said it would never hand over data to the Chinese government and besides, their servers are not even based in China.

In compliance with the executive orders, ByteDance struck a deal with Oracle and Walmart. The deal would have seen the popular app transfer its US operations to Oracle’s servers.

The deal was temporarily halted after ByteDance went to court challenging Trump’s orders. Federal judges pushed back the ban which was eventually overtaken by events after the Trump-Biden transition.

Now the discussion is back on the table with President Biden and the ban has been pushed back indefinitely.

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