TikTok says it’s here to stay; ban from U.S. app stores delayed to September 27

By Aaron Mamiit Published September 19, 2020

TikTok claims that it is here to stay, shortly after President Donald Trump said that he has approved Oracle’s proposed deal to acquire the video-sharing app’s U.S. assets.

TikTok said on Twitter said that it is not going anywhere, while also uploading a short video message from interim CEO Vanessa Pappas.

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pic.twitter.com/TgYSTyiIoh

— TikTok US (@tiktok_us) September 19, 2020

TikTok is “here for the long run,” Pappas said in the video, adding that it was working with “a U.S. tech partner” so that the app will continue to function without any changes for its users.

Under Oracle’s proposed deal that received Trump’s approval, a new company, TikTok Global, will be created, and it will donate $5 billion to an education fund. Oracle, meanwhile, will gain full access to TikTok’s source code and will ensure that there are no backdoors that will gather data and spy on the app’s 100 million users in the U.S.

TikTok ban in U.S. app stores pushed back

The approval for Oracle’s proposed deal and Pappas’ message come right before the expected TikTok ban in U.S. app stores. On Friday, TikTok and Chinese parent company ByteDance filed a new lawsuit against Trump and his administration in a last-ditch effort to prevent the app’s removal, according to the Wall Street Journal.

With Trump’s approval of the Oracle deal, the U.S. Department of Commerce said that it will delay TikTok’s removal from U.S. app stores to September 27. This may give enough time to close the transaction, which still requires approval from the Chinese government, and to set up TikTok Global.

Digital Trends has reached out to TikTok for comment on the recent developments, including whether one week is enough to complete the deal with Oracle. We will update this article as soon as we hear back.

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