This has largely come to an end. Yes, Trump has approved a deal among Oracle, Walmart and TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, CNN reports. So, no ban of TikTok in the United States. Oracle confirmed the news, affirming that it has been chosen as TikTok’s cloud provider with a 12.5% stake in investment. TikTok confirmed that Oracle has become a minority investor, adding that it’s working with Walmart, who will take a 7.5% stake, in a commercial partnership. More so, the deal means that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, will own the remaining 80%, according to a person familiar with the matter. CNBC noted that 40% of ByteDance is owned by US venture capital firms, which means the Trump administration can technically claim TikTok Global is now majority owned by US money.
President Donald Trump said Saturday he has approved a deal between TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, and Oracle (ORCL), temporarily averting a ban on TikTok in US app stores.
The Commerce Department confirmed in a statement Saturday evening that it would delay — by one week — restrictions that were originally to take effect on Sunday.ByteDance will continue to be majority owner of TikTok under the agreement Trump said he approved, according to a person familiar with the matter.Speaking to reporters, Trump said he approved the deal “in concept.”“I have given the deal my blessing,” Trump said. “If they get it done, that’s great. If they don’t, that’s okay, too.”
The deal will also include Wal-Mart (WMT), Trump said, adding that “the security will be 100 percent. They’ll be using separate clouds and very, very powerful security.”
But if you check, the x-factor here is China, and the nation has shown how thinking ahead can help national entities. Without the emergency export control rules that China recently put in place, the U.S. would have single handedly driven this playbook. But with the new export regulations, making it clear that the real juice here – yes, the algorithms which power TikTok – cannot leave China under any circumstance, the chess game was altered. Magically, the U.S. could not control all game plans without considering the Beijing regulations. Yes, simple things and strategic positioning can help nations support their citizens and companies. China saved TikTok in America and that is the lesson for everyone in African capitals.
This is a pure Beijing outflanking from all angles: TikTok Global simply raised more money from the U.S. and will be listed in New York in the next coming months. Largely, ByteDance did not lose anything. Yes, Oracle gets cloud contracts and will invest along with Walmart. Through Walmart, TikTok will expand its footprints to more American homes. Left and right – who will not like an investment from Walmart with millions of potential customers that come with it? Trump has simply strengthened TikTok at the end of this show.
Oracle and Walmart have agreed to acquire a 20% stake in TikTok’s global business as part of a pre-IPO financing round, the ByteDance owned video-sharing platform announced in a press release on Saturday, moments after President Donald Trump told the press that he had given his “blessing” to the deal.
Meanwhile, a U.S. judge has blocked the WeChat ban: “A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order banning WeChat downloads in the United States.”
In issuing the preliminary injunction, Judge Laurel Beeler wrote that the plaintiffs — a group of US-based WeChat users who stand to be affected by Trump’s ban — had shown “serious questions” in their claim that the executive order threatens the users’ First Amendment rights.“The plaintiffs’ evidence reflects that WeChat is effectively the only means of communication for many in the community, not only because China bans other apps, but also because Chinese speakers with limited English proficiency have no options other than WeChat,” Beeler wrote.
LinkedIn Comments on Feed
Comment: This is like a media narrative, where each journalist chooses what to see and report, it’s then left for discerning minds to put all the pieces together, to get the full picture.
Trump asked for changes, he didn’t like the previous ownership structure, China panicked, because it knows that Trump wasn’t bluffing; and now China is taking the credit for getting some hold in the deal? Aside from Trump, which leader or nation even gets China to panic? This idea of making China appear invincible is what I am yet to grasp, it has no basis in reality, from what I have seen in its tussle with Trump in the last two years.
Well, 40 and 60 aren’t the same, plus a shift on data storage; the former is called minority, and the latter is called majority. I do not care about anything China wishes to spin to the public, at the end of the day both nations will be claiming victory, which is actually a good thing.
I just want my African leaders (rulers) to know that there’s still a beautiful and fulfilling life out there, without absurd romance with China, US or EU; that is how they should be thinking, and not this numbing feeling of ‘we are doomed without them’, that is what I find insulting and embarrassing.
Trump can rattle anyone.
My Response: He got nothing from TikTok. The only core difference was that Google lost a cloud business contract for Oracle. Yes, Oracle will now host TikTok, replacing Google. And Walmart paid some money and will provide its users for a piece of the TikTok Global. There is nothing material that changed from old TikTok structure expect that it got more money from U.S. and more users. More so, this money will be shipped to Beijing to pay the AI engineers who will keep TikTok working.
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This is like a media narrative, where each journalist chooses what to see and report, it’s then left for discerning minds to put all the pieces together, to get the full picture.
Trump asked for changes, he didn’t like the previous ownership structure, China panicked, because it knows that Trump wasn’t bluffing; and now China is taking the credit for getting some hold in the deal? Aside from Trump, which leader or nation even gets China to panic? This idea of making China appear invincible is what I am yet to grasp, it has no basis in reality, from what I have seen in its tussle with Trump in the last two years.
Well, 40% and 60% aren’t the same, plus a shift on data storage; the former is called minority, and the latter is called majority. I do not care about anything China wishes to spin to the public, at the end of the day both nations will be claiming victory, which is actually a good thing.
I just want my African leaders (rulers) to know that there’s still a beautiful and fulfilling life out there, without absurd romance with China, US or EU; that is how they should be thinking, and not this numbing feeling of ‘we are doomed without them’, that is what I find insulting and embarrassing.
Trump can rattle anyone.