Chinese apps TikTok, WeChat to be banned in United States from September 20
Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat will be banned in the United States from September 20 (Sunday), according to AFP. The move to ban these two Chinese apps have come after India had banned TikTok and over 200 other Chinese apps over security concerns. Owned by ByteDance, TikTok was in talks with US tech giant Microsoft and Oracle to sell its US operations after the Trump administration had given 45 days to the company to sign a deal, failing which the app will be banned in United States.
Meanwhile, reports have also come that as a decision on the proposal that TikTok had submitted to the US administration to resolve its security concerns is expected soon, its Chinese parent company ByteDance is planning to launch an initial public offering for the short video-sharing platform, CNBC reported.
The move for a TikTok IPO globally on a US stock exchange is aimed at addressing ownership concerns, said the report on Thursday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
Cloud major Oracle earlier this week confirmed that it is part of the proposal submitted by ByteDance to the US Treasury Department over the weekend.
Besides Oracle, Walmart will also have a stake in the new global TikTok, according to the CNBC report.
While Microsoft, which was seen as one of the front-runners to purchase TikTok's US operations, on Sunday said that its proposal was rejected by ByteDance. Walmart on the same day said it "continues to have an interest in a TikTok investment and continues discussions with ByteDance leadership and other interested parties."
While Oracle's stake in the new global TikTok is likely to be less than 20 per cent, the size of Walmart's stake is far from clear, said the new report.
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