Almost five months after it was announced, a proposed hosting agreement between Oracle and TikTok is on permanent hold, according to a report by Wall Street Newspaper. The deal was “archived indefinitely” pending a broader review of Trump’s policy in China, says the daily, citing sources familiar with the situation.
Oracle announced in September that it was planning to take over as TikTok’s “trusted technology partner” for the United States as part of a broader Trump White House deal. But the deal was widely criticized as a “glorified hosting deal” that did little to address underlying concerns about the Chinese government’s influence on the platform.
The Trump White House pushed hard for an agreement between TikTok and some American corporation, starting with a legally dubious executive order on August 6 that sought to ban any transaction with the company unless security issues could be resolved. After extensive discussions, Treasury officials presented a partnership with Oracle as the only way for TikTok to continue operating in the country. In the months after its announcement, the deal was paralyzed by a series of legal challenges against the August 6 order.
If President Biden changes Trump’s aggressive policy towards the app, TikTok will likely continue its operations in the United States without any help from Oracle.
Biden’s technology policy is still taking shape, but the new president has shown some willingness to continue the Trump era’s efforts to contain Chinese influence. Earlier this month, the new secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, told Congress that she saw “no reason” to remove Huawei from the Entity List, suggesting that Trump’s ban on Huawei’s telecommunications products will likely continue under the government. of Biden.