Tiktok to be overseen by Oracle, retrained for US; deal to be signed later this week: White House

Washington DC [US], September 23 (ANI): The White House has announced that the deal to secure TikTok's operations in the US will be signed by President Donald Trump later this week, ensuring the popular social media platform operates under Washington's stringent oversight.

During a press briefing on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karolina Levitte revealed that TikTok will be majority-owned by American investors and managed by a board with extensive national security and cybersecurity expertise, with Oracle serving as its trusted security provider.

Levitte detailed that Oracle will independently monitor the safety and data security of all US user data, which will be stored on Oracle-operated servers in the United States, safeguarded from foreign surveillance or interference, particularly from China.

"The president will be signing the deal, the official deal, later this week at some point. Under the terms of this deal, TikTok will be owned by a majority of American investors and controlled by a board of directors with extensive national security and cybersecurity credentials," she said.

"In partnership with the US government, Oracle will serve as TikTok's trusted security provider and they will independently monitor the safety and data security of all US user data on TikTok's platform. Americans data will be stored securely in the United States without access from China. All US user data will be stored on servers operated by Oracle in the United States, protected from surveillance or interference by foreign adversaries," she added.

Levitte further explained that TikTok's algorithm will be retrained and operated in the US, independent of its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

"And the algorithm will be secured, retrained, and operated in the United States outside of ByteDance's control. TikTok will remain globally interoperable, meaning TikTok users in the US will be able to see videos posted by users in other countries and vice versa," she noted.

The deal is expected to have significant economic impacts, with Levitte projecting that businesses using TikTok could generate up to USD 178 billion in economic activity in the US over the next four years.

"While I don't have a number on the specific deal, we do expect that thanks to the president's leadership and the securement of this historic deal, businesses using TikTok will generate as much as 178 billion dollars in economic activity within the US over the next four years," the White House Press Secretary said.

Earlier on Friday, Trump stated that Chinese President Xi Jinping had approved the TikTok deal for the video-sharing platform to continue operating in the US.

Trump mentioned that the US would have "tight control" over the app, emphasising that this is a "very good deal" for Washington.

Prior to this, Trump and Xi Jinping had a telephonic conversation during which they discussed various issues, including the Chinese app TikTok, which faces a threat of being banned after the Biden administration passed legislation to force the platform to divest itself of its ownership by the Chinese internet company ByteDance.

Shortly after Trump's conversation with Xi Jinping, ByteDance stated that the company would advance with the related work that allows TikTok to continue functioning in the US.

"ByteDance will advance related work in accordance with the requirements of Chinese law, allowing TikTok U.S. to continue serving American users well," the statement read.

The legislation, which was passed in April 2024, aimed to ban the app from January 19, 2025, but the Trump government has not yet enforced it.

The US is eager to strike a deal with China that allows US investors to have more control of TikTok.

According to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, which quoted people familiar with the deal, the proposed agreement between Beijing and Washington is set to see a group of American investors control 80 per cent of TikTok, while Chinese firms, including ByteDance, will control the remaining 20 per cent. (ANI)

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