ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Saturday (20) that he is discussing the purchase of TikTok with several people and should make a decision on the future of the popular application within the next 30 days.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people about TikTok and there’s a lot of interest in TikTok,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One during a flight to Florida.
Earlier in the day, Reuters reported that two people with knowledge of the discussions said the Trump administration is working on a plan to save TikTok that involves turning to software company Oracle and a group of outside investors to effectively take control of the companies. application operations.
Under the deal being negotiated by the White House, TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance would retain a stake in the company, but data collection and software updates would be overseen by Oracle, which already provides the foundation of TikTok’s web infrastructure. TikTok, one of the sources told Reuters.
However, in his comments to reporters on the flight, Trump said he had not spoken to Oracle CEO Larry Ellison about purchasing the app.
Asked if he was reaching a deal with Oracle and other investors to save TikTok, Trump said: “No, not with Oracle. Several people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it and I will make that decision probably in the next 30 days. Congress gave 90 days. If we can save TikTok, I think that would be a good thing.”
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The sources said the terms of any potential deal with Oracle were fluid and likely to change. A source said the full scope of discussions has not yet been defined and could include US operations as well as other regions.
Others vying to acquire TikTok, including the investor group led by billionaire Frank McCourt and another involving Jimmy Donaldson, better known as YouTube star Mr. Beast, are not part of the Oracle deal, one of the sources said.
Under the terms of the agreement, Oracle would be responsible for addressing national security issues. TikTok initially struck a deal with Oracle in 2022 to store U.S. user information to alleviate Washington’s concerns about Chinese government interference.
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TikTok management would remain in place to operate the short video app, according to one of the sources.
