In an open letter to CFIUS, Senator Josh Hawley says US should reject Oracle-ByteDance collaboration citing national security grounds and calls for a full sale

The deal is ‘completely unacceptable,’ Hawley says — Sen. Josh Hawley is publicly calling on the Treasury Department …

The Verge 2020-09-15 Russell Brandom

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Vox Shirin Ghaffary on x
What the heck is going on with TikTok and Oracle, explained
@eringriffith Erin Griffith on x
No algorithm -No outright sale -Investor equity in ByteDance will get rolled into the new entity -Oracle likely gets a small stake -TikTok HQ moves to US -US investors get voting control (not necessarily majority ownership) https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nytimesbusiness @nytimesbusiness on x
Oracle would most likely gain a stake in TikTok but would not be the app's outright owner, people familiar with the proposal said https://www.nytimes.com/...
@dmccabe David McCabe on x
New tonight w/ @AnaSwanson @eringriffith: As the TikTok deal comes into focus, it is becoming clear that it is designed to mitigate concerns in Washington and Beijing without giving Trump what he asked for initially: an all-out sale. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nytpolitics @nytpolitics on x
TikTok said that it had offered a proposal to the Treasury Department that aimed to address the Trump administration's concerns that the app could give the Chinese government access to sensitive data https://www.nytimes.com/...
@dmccabe David McCabe on x
Details could still shift, but as of now: — Oracle most likely gets some sort of stake — Some investor equity in ByteDance ends up in whatever entity exists after this — American investors get voting control — TikTok establishes HQ in U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@russellbrandom Russell Brandom on x
Interesting to see a Republican calling out the TikTok deal in such stark terms https://www.theverge.com/...
@niubi Bill Bishop on x
TikTok's Proposed Deal Seeks to Mollify U.S. and China https://www.nytimes.com/... perhaps the deal makes sense but based on what is described so far trump agreeing to it would be a massive cave from his previous position.
@eringriffith Erin Griffith on x
What we know about the Oracle-TikTok deal: 😬😬😬 The details are still being worked out and changing! But we know it was designed to mitigate. Some other tidbits from today's story w @dmccabe and @anaswanson: https://www.nytimes.com/...
@teddyschleifer Teddy Schleifer on x
Current Oracle employee on TikTok deal: “I see this as kissing Trump's ass and damaging Oracle even further in the developer community, giving them more of a reason to hate us.” https://www.vox.com/...
@hawleymo Josh Hawley on x
Reports say @tiktok_us has reached a deal with an American company. I'm urging the Trump Administration NOT to approve it unless it involves a clean break w/ @BytedanceTalk & total separation from #Beijing https://twitter.com/...
@alexstamos Alex Stamos on x
A deal where Oracle takes over hosting without source code and significant operational changes would not address any of the legitimate concerns about TikTok, and the White House accepting such a deal would demonstrate that this exercise was pure grift. https://twitter.com/...
@jolingkent Jo Ling Kent on x
NEWS: A source directly familiar with the deal tells me that Oracle has been chosen to acquire TikTok US as the technology partner.
@parkermolloy Parker Molloy on x
Probably just a coincidence, I'm sure https://twitter.com/...
@superwuster Tim Wu on x
If the US wanted to do something about Chinese state influence over TikTok, it should actually do something, not accept some kind of “Oracle partnership.” How about an IPO? https://www.theverge.com/...
@cgtnamerica CGTN America on x
Oracle has reportedly won the bid for #TikTok in U.S., beating Microsoft. But CGTN learned from its sources that TikTok's algorithm is not for sale. “The car can be sold, but not the engine” people familiar with the matter said. https://news.cgtn.com/...
@suntimes @suntimes on x
Microsoft announced Sunday that its bid to buy TikTok has been rejected, removing a leading suitor for the Chinese-owned app a week before President Donald Trump promises to follow through with a plan to ban it in the U.S. https://chicago.suntimes.com/ ...
@keithboykin Keith Boykin on x
And he's definitely the most corrupt president in American history. https://twitter.com/...
@reutersindia @reutersindia on x
WATCH: Under their proposed deal, Oracle will be ByteDance's technology partner and will manage TikTok's U.S. user data https://www.reuters.com/... $ORCL https://twitter.com/...
@tomgara Tom Gara on x
WSJ on how Oracle got involved in the TikTok deal: TikTok's big investors “went in search of a tech company with close ties to the administra tion and settled on Oracle” https://www.wsj.com/...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
If Oracle/ByteDance are pledging that they'd create lots of U.S. jobs... that reflects how they view the WH objections as more political than about national security.
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
Oracle didn't beat Microsoft to buy TikTok. Because “trusted tech partner” isn't the same as buying anything. No one is buying TikTok.
@naterockquarry Nathan Quarry on x
The corruption is right in front of us at least. They aren't even trying to hide it. https://twitter.com/...
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
“...TikTok for connection and entertainment, as well as the hundreds of thousands of small business owners and creators who rely upon TikTok to grow their livelihoods and build meaningful careers.”
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
Full TikTok statement: “We can confirm that we've submitted a proposal to the Treasury Department which we believe would resolve the Administration's security concerns. This proposal would enable us to continue supporting our community of 100 million people in the US who love 1/2
@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
TikTok/ByteDance confirms it has submitted a deal proposal (Oracle) to the treasury for review. New company statement: https://twitter.com/...
@bloombergquint @bloombergquint on x
Oracle is said to gain an advantage in a deal for TikTok in the U.S. https://www.bloombergquint.com/ ...
@ferrotv Jonathan Ferro on x
This is looking more like the kind of partnership/deal China pushed on foreign companies to gain access to the mainland. After decades of hoping/expecting China will become more like the US, elements of US biz are arguably taking on Chinese characteristics. https://twitter.com/..…
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
Many are underestimating the profitability for when TikTok moves to per processor viewing. Also in the works will be maintenance fees for videos.
@backlon Dieter Bohn on x
Yep, @russellbrandom has it right. This is theater. https://www.theverge.com/...
@russellbrandom Russell Brandom on x
It's hard to see how Oracle's TikTok deal addresses any of the national security concerns around TikTok https://www.theverge.com/...
@jivedurkey J.D. Durkin on x
it's almost as if the pressure from the White House on TikTok was never about national security to begin with https://www.theverge.com/...
@manan @manan on x
trusted tech provider means an IT MSP? Also, Oracle is so going to campuses to hire people to “work on TikTok” and then staff them on OIM customer support 😂 https://twitter.com/...
@megancgraham Meg Graham on x
Oracle confirms it has struck a deal with TikTok owner ByteDance weeks after the Trump Administration ordered a TikTok divestiture in the U.S. The deal proposal still needs to be approved by the U.S. government. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@thedextriarchy Adi Robertson on x
Oracle's ByteDance deal basically just slammed a bus into any good-faith debate over TikTok and national security https://www.theverge.com/...
@mattnavarra Matt Navarra on x
Most experts seem to be saying the same thing... Oracle's TikTok deal does very little to address the issues Trump made such a fuss about https://www.theverge.com/...
@karlbode Karl Bode on x
this entire thing has been just the dumbest bullshit https://twitter.com/...
@mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x
Tik Tok ending up in Oracle's hands via an opaque process is a great example of how Trump's preference for irregular modes of conducting governance (there was bipartisan support in congress for a move, no reason he couldn't have used proper channels) is a corrupting influence.
@hawleymo Josh Hawley on x
If true, the #TikTok platform must be rebuilt from top to bottom and all backdoors to #Beijing closed https://twitter.com/...
@levie Aaron Levie on x
Sure, it seems unusual to have Oracle run TikTok. But who will have the last laugh when the TikTok influencers start recommending HR and Finance systems in all their videos.
@tomgara Tom Gara on x
Oracle is basically becoming one of those Saudi royal family members who you need to sign up as your “local partner” if you want to open a Toyota dealership there https://twitter.com/...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
And this points to the rhetorical gymnastics the WH is gonna have to go through in order to accept what most people think is coming. https://twitter.com/...
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
TikTok is banking on Trump backing away from his public statements about TikTok. Story here: https://www.cnbc.com/...
@arjunkharpal Arjun Kharpal on x
Let's remember what Trump said in early August regarding a TikTok deal. Oracle's role as a “trusted technology provider” appears to be quite far from that. And what about the money that was supposed to go to the Treasury? https://www.cnbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
If somehow ByteDance walks away with operational control of TikTok US, ex-CEO Kevin Mayer becomes a casualty of Trump's hyperbole: https://www.cnbc.com/...
@jordannovet Jordan Novet on x
‘After ByteDance started talks with Microsoft to take over U.S. assets to avoid a ban, Mayer held talks with Safra Catz, the chief executive of Oracle, about a potential deal, the people said. Catz is on the Walt Disney board of directors.’ https://twitter.com/...
@ivanthek @ivanthek on x
This is a good recap, including the mention of former CEO's possible vain sacrifice of his job, because he took Trump literally. https://twitter.com/...

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In an open letter to CFIUS, Senator Josh Hawley says US should reject Oracle-ByteDance collaboration citing national security grounds and calls for a full sale

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