By JD Knapp
Copyright thewrap
TikTok is set to generate as much as $178 billion in economic activity for American users over the next four years under terms of its pending deal, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
After it was reported that an investor consortium that includes Oracle, Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz was in final talks to purchase the U.S. version of the app last week, Leavitt provided further details in a Monday press conference, noting that President Donald Trump is expected to sign the deal later this week.
“Under the terms of the deal, TikTok will be owned by a majority of American investors and controlled by a Board of Directors with extensive national security and cyber security credentials,” she said. “In partnership with the U.S. government, Oracle will serve as TikTok’s trusted security provider and they will independently monitor the safety and data security of all U.S. user data on TikTok’s platform. Americans’ data will be stored securely in the United States without access from China. All U.S. user data will be stored on servers operated by Oracle in the United States, protected from surveillance or interference by foreign adversaries.”
“The algorithm — I know this a question many of you have had — will be secured, retrained and operated in the United States outside of ByteDance’s control,” Leavitt continued. “TikTok will remain globally inner-operable, meaning TikTok users in the U.S. will be able to see videos posted by users in other countries, and vice versa.”
The third TikTok ban deadline was initially set to expire on Sept. 17, but the Trump administration instead extended that timeline until mid-December.
“While I don’t have a number on the specific deal, we do expect that, thanks to the president’s leadership and the securement of this historic deal, businesses using TikTok will generate as much as $178 billion in economic activity within the U.S. over the next four years,” Leavitt concluded. “This is great news, not just for the millions of American youth who use TikTok, their data will be safe and secure with this new deal, they’ll continue to use this very fun app, but it’s also great news for all the small business owners who have really been able to make a living off of the use of TikTok as well.”
Representatives for TikTok, Oracle, Silver Lake or Horowitz have not responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.
“It wouldn’t be in compliance if the algorithm is Chinese. There can’t be any shared algorithm with ByteDance,” a spokesperson for the House Select Committee on China further told ABC News.
