Report: Biden White House Puts Hold on TikTok Deal with Oracle and Walmart

The deal for TikTok’s American operations with Oracle and Walmart has been put on hold indefinitely by the Biden White House, according to the New York Times.

The New York Times reports that the U.S. plan to force a deal for TikTok’s American operations to Oracle and Walmart has been put on hold as the Biden administration begins a broad review of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to address possible national security risks from Chinese tech companies.

The TikTok deal has been dragged out since last fall following a series of successful legal challenges to the U.S. government’s efforts by TikTok’s owner, Chinese firm ByteDance Ltd.

People familiar with the situation stated that discussions between ByteDance representatives and U.S. national security officials have been ongoing. The discussions have allegedly centered mainly around data security and methods that could be used to prevent the information TikTok collects on American users from being accessed by the Chinese government.

No decision on how to resolve the issues surrounding TikTok is expected to come any time soon as the Biden administration determines its response to the potential security risk that Chinese tech companies pose.

National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne stated: “We plan to develop a comprehensive approach to securing U.S. data that addresses the full range of threats we face. This includes the risk posed by Chinese apps and other software that operate in the U.S. In the coming months, we expect to review specific cases in light of a comprehensive understanding of the risks we face.”