Americans use TikTok differently than the rest of the world

TikTok will be 80% owned by the US. Photo: Reuters .

In an attempt to stave off a ban on TikTok in the US, the Trump administration has found a buyer for the app. On September 22, the White House said it was “very certain” that the separation of TikTok US from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, would be completed under an executive order signed by Mr. Trump.

Oracle will oversee the security of US users' data and monitor changes and updates to the recommendation engine behind TikTok's feed. A copy of the algorithm will be licensed from China to a group of US investors to operate, according to the NYT.

Oracle, along with private equity firm Silver Lake, will invest in the US version of TikTok. The data will be kept in the country, and Oracle will be responsible for oversight, outside the control of ByteDance. The US developer will retrain a copy of user data, and will not allow access to the Chinese side.

The deal is aimed at meeting the requirements of a law that would ban TikTok in the US unless ByteDance relinquishes control of the app. Lawmakers have raised national security concerns, saying Beijing could spread or collect sensitive data on Americans if it continues to own it. Last week, Mr. Trump extended the deadline for the law for the fourth time.

Who controls the algorithm has become a key issue in the debate. Chinese law requires the tool to be controlled by the Chinese government. However, the US side has demanded that TikTok cut all operational ties with ByteDance, “including any cooperation related to the operation of the content recommendation algorithm”.

Mr. Trump and administration officials have discussed a deal that would give Western investors a controlling stake in TikTok’s U.S. operations. Under the terms, American companies would own about 80% of the new version of TikTok, while ByteDance and other Chinese investors would own less than 20%.

Despite the framework agreement, China has yet to formally endorse it. Formal signing and regulatory approvals remain to be finalized. Officials said on September 22 that the US president would extend the deadline by 120 days to allow enough time for the transaction to take place.

Also on that day, Oracle promoted two executives, Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia, to become co-CEOs of the company. Current CEO Safra Catz was appointed Executive Vice President of Oracle's Board of Directors.

With its role in managing data, algorithms, and related cloud computing services, Oracle could earn a significant amount of additional annual revenue from this deal, estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Oracle's stock price also increased after this news was announced.

Source: https://znews.vn/nguoi-my-dung-tiktok-khac-the-gioi-post1587547.html