US President Donald Trump has welcomed the idea of tech giant Oracle buying out the US operations of Chinese-owned video sharing platform TikTok.
President Trump said Oracle would be "a great company" to take over the operations of TikTok in the US, following reports that Oracle is a possible buyer of the Chinese social media app's business in North America, Australia and New Zealand.
Oracle chairman Larry Ellison is a known supporter of Trump who hosted a fundraising event for his campaign in February at his private golf course and estate in California.
Reports of Oracle interest
Trump made the comments during a speech in Yuma, Arizona after he learned of reports that Oracle was working on an offer for some TikTok assets with a group of ByteDance's investors.
Oracle is collaborating with a group of US venture capital companies that have a stake in TikTok, the source says. According to a report from The Financial Times, General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital as reportedly two of the investors working with Oracle.
Spokespeople for Oracle and TikTok refused to comment on the news.
Oracle’s negotiations with TikTok are ongoing and have sped up in recent days, according to the source. Moreover, Oracle and Microsoft are far ahead of any other firms that have expressed interest.
Ban on TikTok
Earlier this month, Trump issued executive orders that would ban TikTok and WeChat in the US in 45 days if sold by their Chinese-owned parent companies.
However, the orders did not indicate that a certain amount of money from the sale needs to be sent to the US Treasury Department, which Trump has been insisting on in the past few days.
The TikTok order states that after 45 days, “any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with ByteDance Ltd.,” will be prohibited.
The order also makes the accusation that the social media platform “automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users,” such as location data and browsing and search histories, which “threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information — potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage.”
In response to the orders, TikTok spokesperson Josh Gartner issued a statement saying: “TikTok is loved by 100 million Americans because it is a home for entertainment, self-expression, and connection. TikTok will be here for many years to come.”
Other potential TikTok buyers
Microsoft has previously confirmed its plan to buy TikTok amid issues with the app. The tech giant said it held talks with ByteDance.
With the acquisition deal, Microsoft could address a recent controversy in Washington and establish its position in consumer technology at the same time.
Microsoft’s statement comes two days after media outlets revealed the company’s interest in buying TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance.
“This new structure would build on the experience TikTok users currently love, while adding world-class security, privacy, and digital safety protections,” Microsoft said. “The operating model for the service would be built to ensure transparency to users as well as appropriate security oversight by governments in these countries.”
Meanwhile, Twitter has also expressed an interest in acquiring TikTok US.
Sources quoted in the Wall Street Journal said it remains unclear whether Twitter can afford to buy TikTok from ByteDance and whether it can complete the transaction within the 45-day window.
While the value of TikTok’s US operations are unclear, estimates are placing it at tens of billions of dollars. On the other hand, the market capitalization of Twitter is only around $29 billion compared to the other potential buyer, Microsoft, which is worth more than $1.6 trillion.
