TikTok picks Oracle in Trump- forced sales bid

The owner of TikTok has chosen Oracle over Microsoft as its preferred suitor to buy the popular video- sharing app, according to a source familiar with the deal who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.

Microsoft announced Sunday that its bid to buy TikTok has been rejected, removing a leading suitor for the Chinese- owned app a week before President Donald Trump promises to follow through with a plan to ban it in the U. S.

The Trump administration has threatened to ban TikTok by Sept. 20 and ordered its parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U. S. business, claiming national security risks due to its Chinese ownership. The government worries about user data being funneled to

Chinese authorities; TikTok denies it is a national security risk and is suing to stop the administration from the threatened ban.

TikTok and the White House declined to comment Sunday. Oracle didn’t return a request for comment but has previously declined to comment.

Microsoft said in a Sunday statement that Bytedance “let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft.”

Walmart, which had planned to partner with Microsoft on the acquisition, said Sunday it “continues to have an interest in a TikTok investment” and is talking about it with ByteDance and other parties.

Microsoft said Sunday it was “confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests.”

The company said it “would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combating disinformation.”

TikTok, which has 100 million U. S. users and about 700 million globally, is known for its fun, goofy videos.