Washington, Jan 26 (UNI) The administration of US President Donald Trump is in talks to transfer control of TikTok’s global operations to Oracle and a group of US investors, the National Public Radio (NPR) reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Under the plan under discussion, Chinese company ByteDance would retain a minority stake in TikTok, but the app’s algorithms, data collection, and software updates would be managed by Oracle. This would allow US investors to gain a controlling stake in the app.
"The goal is for Oracle to effectively monitor and provide oversight with what is going on with TikTok," one of the people involved in the talks told the broadcaster. "ByteDance wouldn't completely go away, but it would minimize Chinese ownership."
In addition to Oracle, Microsoft is also involved in the potential deal, but Walmart, which was involved in similar talks in 2020, has held off due to the high price of the app.
A meeting between White House officials and Oracle on the deal is expected to take place next week. According to sources, Oracle is interested in a stake in TikTok worth "tens of billions of dollars," but the details of the deal remain under discussion.
Representatives of Microsoft, Oracle, TikTok, and the White House have not yet officially commented on the talks.
UNI SPUTNIK GNK