Published 11:15 IST, August 19th 2020
Donald Trump says Oracle a good company, could take over TikTok in US
Days after ordering Chinese company TikTok to sell all its assets in US, President Donald Trump has now pitched Oracle Corp as a company that could take over
Days after ordering Chinese company TikTok to sell all its assets in the United States, President Donald Trump has now pitched Oracle Corp as a company that could take over. Addressing people in Arizona on August 18, Trump said that Oracle was a ‘Great Company’ and can acquire the Chinese social media company in America. According to reports, Oracle's chairman Larry Ellison is an ardent supporter of Trump and also held a fundraising event for him in February this year.
Oracle interested in TikTok
His remarks came as the California based software company joined some of the other investors of Bytedance, the parent company of TikTok in pursuing a bid for the short video app’s operations in North America, Australia and New Zealand. The other investors include companies like General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital amongst others. Trump has already given an ultimatum to ByteDance ordering it to either sell or spin off its American branch within 90 days.
In an order released on August 14, Trump has cited “credible evidence” for the possibility of ByteDance to take action that in turns jeopardises the national security of the United States. The latest executive order is followed by an investigation of ByteDance’s acquisition Musical.ly which was introduced in America in 2017 and then merged with TikTok.
In addition, Trump has signed a separate executive order banning American transactions with WeChat and TikTok’s parent company ByteDance in 45 days. The orders came after Trump administration said earlier this month that it is gearing up to purge the “untrusted” Chinese apps from America’s digital networks and called Chinese-owned video-sharing social networking service and messenger app as “significant threats”. Trump on August 13 reportedly said that any deal to sell Chinese-owned social media app TikTok to an American company must substantially benefit the nation and provide ‘total security’.
Updated 11:15 IST, August 19th 2020