President Donald Trump said Saturday he’s given his “blessing” to a proposed deal between Oracle and Walmart for the US operations of TikTok, the Chinese-owned app he’s targeted for national security and data privacy concerns, reported Wall Street Journal.
Trump said the proposed deal will result in a new company likely to be based in Texas and under the control of US-based Oracle and Walmart.
“I have given the deal my blessing,” he said. “If they get it done, that’s great. If they don’t, that’s OK too.”
TikTok said later Saturday that it’s pleased the the proposal by TikTok, Oracle and Walmart “will resolve the security concerns of the US Administration and settle questions around TikTok’s future in the US.”
The company said that under the proposal, Oracle will become its trusted technology provider, hosting US user data and securing associated computer systems.
Trump has been demanding that TikTok, a video app popular with younger people, be sold to a U.S. company or else have its US operations shut down. He’s also been targeting WeChat, another Chinese-owned app. The dispute over the two apps is the latest flashpoint in the rising tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
