Almost two years after former President Donald Trump nearly banned the social video app TikTok from the United States, the platform’s parent company could be close to wrapping up a data storage deal with Oracle.
ByteDance, the Chinese internet technology company responsible for the popular app, is close to inking a partnership with the Austin, Texas-based software corporation Oracle, according to Reuters. The deal would see TikTok’s U.S.-based user data stored and protected by Oracle, in an effort to alleviate privacy concerns related to ByteDance and China’s government.
Although the deal has not been confirmed, it would signal the end of a two-year ordeal in which the popular video-sharing app was banned in the U.S. over privacy and national security concerns. If completed, however, the deal may create further problems regarding international governments and third-party storage requirements. While companies seek to eliminate extra costs by storing and governing their own user data, foreign governments could require them to house data within their own borders. U.S.-based companies such as Meta and Apple already boast strong footholds in China and other countries, and further complicating data storage could prove costly, if a precedent is set.
