TikTok | Photo by Kayli Thompson | The Wright State Guardian
A deal has been proposed involving software company Oracle and retail giant Walmart, who would both have a hand in the American operations of the Chinese social-networking app TikTok; however, the details of the agreement are complicated.
The deal
On Sept. 19, TikTok announced that Oracle and Walmart agreed to obtain a 20 percent stake in its business. Oracle would acquire 12.5 percent while Walmart would receive 7.5 percent. A new company called TikTok Global would also be formed to handle app operations in America, with four American citizens and, reportedly, ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming, acting as members of its board. This company would create around 25,000 new jobs, which earned it a blessing from President Trump.
This agreement is the result of Trump seeking a ban on the app in the United States since, in his eyes, it is a threat to national security.
TikTok is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance, who said that they will retain 80 percent ownership of the new company; however, Oracle has contradicted this.
According to Oracle Executive Vice President Ken Glueck, "Upon creation of TikTok Global, Oracle/Walmart will make their investment and the TikTok Global shares will be distributed to their owners, Americans will be the majority and ByteDance will have no ownership in TikTok Global."
Oracle would store all data from TikTok’s American users on its cloud platform if the deal goes through. Additionally, the company would be in charge of "securing associated computer systems," according to a statement from TikTok.
Originally, the app was to be taken off of app stores on Sept. 20. However, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross allowed this to be delayed by a week.
ByteDance has submitted an application to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce for an export license to sell this 20 percent stake, though there is a possibility that the deal will be rejected by China. The state-run newspaper China Daily has blasted the proposed deal, calling it “dirty” and “unfair” and mentioning that "what the United States has done to TikTok is almost the same as a gangster forcing an unreasonable and unfair business deal on a legitimate company."
Student reactions
History major Nolan Hall has been critical of the entire situation, mentioning that part of the reason Trump is against TikTok may be because some of his rallies had inflated expected attendance due to users of the app.
“He saw it as a means of ‘oh, these people here did this. I’m going to act like a baby and try and take it away from them,’ without thinking ‘oh, even some of my own supporters use this and it makes people happy,’” Hall said.
Meanwhile, Cameron Waid, an information systems and supply chain management major, isn’t worried about the app’s future and is excited to continue taking in what TikTok has to offer.
“I’m already here to watch and enjoy the content people produce,” said Waid.
