The Commerce Department delayed a ban on TikTok downloads after President Trump announced his tentative support for a transaction between Oracle, Walmart, and TikTok’s Chinese-owned parent ByteDance. The proposed deal (announced by Oracle and Walmart on Saturday) would establish a new company called TikTok Global with “majority ownership by American investors," including 20% by Walmart and Oracle. Meanwhile, in a separate press release today, ByteDance (partially owned by US investors) said it will retain 80% of the new US-based company.
More context: The Commerce Department announced a ban on TikTok and WeChat downloads in the US on Friday (which was set to take effect yesterday). The announcement was prompted by executive orders issued by President Trump in August calling for bans on “transactions” with the Chinese-owned companies, citing national security concerns.
Extra: Separately, a federal judge temporarily blocked the ban on WeChat from taking effect yesterday.
