TikTok has finally dodged the US ban by finalizing a deal with Oracle and Walmart that gives the latter companies a bit of control over TikTok’s operations. ByteDance owned TikTok will now continue its operations in the US the same as before.
ALSO READ
TikTok Blocks 93,000 Accounts on Pakistan’s Request
As part of the deal, enterprise software company Oracle will have a 12.5% stake in the Chinese company whereas Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon will join the ByteDance’s board. On the other hand, ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming and the company’s current directors will continue to serve as before.
ByteDance revealed in a statement shared earlier that the Chinese company will still have full control over TikTok’s algorithms but Oracle will be allowed limited access to view the source code of the app for security purposes.
President Donald Trump has asserted that the US government should get $5 billion as part of the deal, but the Chinese company is currently contesting the suggestion. ByteDance has said that this figure is only an estimate of the taxes that TikTok would pay over several years of a successful business. However, Oracle and Walmart said in a joint statement that TikTok will be paying the US more than $5 billion.Â
The deal also includes the creation of a new entity called TikTok global where Walmart and Oracle will hold a minority stake whereas ByteDance will have an 80% stake valued around $60 billion. It is not yet clear whether the deal requires approval from the Chinese government or not.
In any case, this marks the end of the TikTok saga.
