Photo taken on Aug. 21, 2020 shows a logo of the video-sharing social networking company TikTok's Los Angeles Office in Culver City, Los Angeles County, the United States. (Xinhua)
-- Some U.S. politicians have repeatedly speculated that TikTok poses a national security threat to the country, though no evidence has been provided to support the allegations.
-- The tricks of economic bullying and political manipulation that the United States is playing on non-American companies are tantamount to coercive robbery.
-- Experts have pointed out that U.S. moves concerning TikTok serve the administration's political interest, and the same purpose is hidden in Washington's recently-hyped "Clean Network" program.
BEIJING, Sept. 15 -- Video-sharing social networking platform TikTok said Monday it had submitted a proposal to the U.S. administration to resolve its "security concerns," in order to continue the company's operation in the future.
Oracle, a U.S. multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in California, also confirmed in a statement Monday that it had reached a deal with TikTok's Chinese parent, ByteDance, to be the latter's U.S. trusted partner.
PARTNERSHIP BID
TikTok, based in Los Angeles and specializing in user-made short videos, said in a statement that the proposal "would enable us to continue supporting our community of 100 million people in the U.S. who love TikTok for connection and entertainment, and the hundreds of thousands of small business owners and creators who rely upon TikTok to grow their livelihoods and build meaningful careers."
Meanwhile, Oracle, which has a 40-year track record providing secure technology solutions, said that it is part of the proposal submitted by ByteDance to the U.S. Treasury Department over the weekend.
The two companies' statements followed U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's note during an interview with CNBC early Monday.
"We did get a proposal over the weekend that includes Oracle as the trusted technology partner, with Oracle making many representations for national security issues," Mnuchin said. "There is also a commitment to create TikTok Global as a U.S.-headquartered company with 20,000 new jobs."
None of them provided any details about the proposal, which still needs the approval of the U.S. administration.
U.S. President Donald Trump and some U.S. politicians have repeatedly speculated that TikTok poses a national security threat to the country, though no evidence has been provided to support the allegations.
On Aug. 6, Trump issued an executive order banning U.S. transactions with ByteDance, citing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The ban will take effect on Sept. 20.
On Aug. 14, he signed a second executive order that will force ByteDance to sell or spin off its U.S. TikTok business within 90 days.
As the clock is ticking for the bans to take effect, U.S. investors involved in the deal, including Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic, backed Oracle's bid for TikTok as the tech firm has strong political connections to Trump, according to the Business Insider.
