Wow, you guys have so much in common: Oracle hotly tipped to buy TikTok’s US operations as Microsoft deal rejected
- Reference: 1600087197
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/09/14/oracle_tipped_to_buy_tiktok_us_ops/
- Source link:
Aside from everything they sell, the people they sell to, their business models, and their entire corporate histories, Oracle and TikTok could not be a more natural fit for a corporate merger.
US President [1]Donald Trump also seems to be a fan .
The relationship between Trump and Larry Ellison is said to be a good one. The Oracle CTO and founder [2]famously opened his doors to a Trump fundraiser in February this year, while the US administration backed an [3]Oracle database project to store and analyse COVID-19-related clinical data.
In August, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US [4]demanded that ByteDance, TikTok’s owners, should sell off the social media sensation's US operations.
Trump had set a 15 September deadline for the sell-off, after saying there was "credible evidence" that TikTok was being used by ByteDance to breach US security. The Chinese firm has always strenuously denied claims that it shared users' data in ways which would break these laws.
On Sunday, according to [5]The Washington Post , Oracle, which has made its fortune in enterprise databases and related software since the 1977, is set to buy the US division of TikTok, a short-form video sharing service aimed at consumers which launched in 2012 and has accrued 800 million users worldwide.
Oracle has not commented on the news.
As El Reg [6]revealed earlier today , Microsoft is on longer in the running. In a statement, the Beast of Redmond, said:
“ByteDance let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft. We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests. To do this, we would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combatting disinformation, and we made these principles clear in our August statement. We look forward to seeing how the service evolves in these important areas.”
Updated at 16.47 BST to add:
Oracle has issued a comment following publication of this article. "Oracle confirms Secretary Mnuchin’s statement that it is part of the proposal submitted by ByteDance to the Treasury Department over the weekend in which Oracle will serve as the trusted technology provider. Oracle has a 40-year track record providing secure, highly performant technology solutions." ®
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[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53830533
[2] https://fortune.com/2020/02/14/oracle-amazon-larry-ellison-hosts-fundraiser-trump/
[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/angelauyeung/2020/04/01/exclusive-larry-ellison-reveals-his-big-data-battle-plan-to-fight-coronavirus-in-partnership-with-trump-white-house/#2f97234e31d3
[4] https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/order-regarding-acquisition-musical-ly-bytedance-ltd/
[5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/13/microsoft-tiktok-bid-rejected/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/14/bytedance_rebuffs_microsofts_tiktok_purchase/
[7] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
>Oracle, on the other side, I have no idea why they would want that; but I'm pretty sure TikTok won't like it when they know.
Conspiracy says it's a back-hander from Trump for Larry's support and a commiseration for the Generals (Traitors/Losers) not giving him the DoD contract.
Cock-up says he is doing it because they have to do something not to become totally irrelvant
Credible evidence
Trump had set a 15 September deadline for the sell-off, after saying there was "credible evidence" that TikTok was being used by ByteDance to breach US security.
"Credible evidence" clearly means "I woke up one morning and decided so".
Re: Credible evidence
"Credible evidence" means that they wouldn't tell him who pissed on his party in Tulsa.
What will the dancers do....
When they start getting a per-core charge for using the app?
This IS Oracle.
Re: What will the dancers do....
> When they start getting a per-core charge for using the app?
Tomorrow - September 15th - El Cheeto's TikTok deadline.
Coming up: TikTok Enterprise Edition. Will be part of Oracle Fusion Apps. The freebie version will only support 5 sec videos @720i.
Re: What will the dancers do....
"Coming up: TikTok Enterprise Edition. Will be part of Oracle Fusion Apps. The freebie version will only support 5 sec videos @720i."
You want audio? That's an extra subscription.
Re: What will the dancers do....
"Cell phone manufacturers baffled as young people opt for single core phones over multi-core"
TikTok & Oracle marketing
Well, I, for one, am looking forward to watching teens and pre-teens extol the virtues of Oracle in 15s to some tune from Billie Eilish.
Enterprise-level databases and analytics tools just haven't been that hot a topic with teenagers recently.
And I don't see that changing any time soon.
As I've already said, that Microsoft adds yet another thingy on it's already bursting patchwork of a software quilt is no surprise, but Oracle is only Oracle and only does Oracle.
I am glad to see that the author of the article is in the same frame of mind.
Oracle and TikTok go together like tank tops and suede shoes. It doesn't match.
I am totally against
insecure products sold by a totalitarian regime run by a malevolent dictator. But enough about Oracle ...
Isn't Ellison a big Trump fanboi? He's held a fundraiser for him
Yes, that was written in the article you responded to.
You might want to actually read it this time.
Locked-in for the win
Now witness the first social media platform that will require a service contract to Tik or Tok.
Tik Tok?
I suggest .renaming it to Flick Flop.
Technology providers
According to other sources Oracle will merely be a "technology provider" (read: storage provider) for TikTok and nothing else. I'm pretty sure the Chinese will still be able to access U.S. customer data this way, but it will take some time to find out.
Anyway, I don't think Trump will buy this. He'll tell them to either sell it completely or shut it down, which IMHO is the best option.
Microsoft, He Says:
...To do this, we would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combatting disinformation,
.
For one brief moment I took that as them reforming their own abysmally low standards rather than those of the putative Microsoft-TikTok.
But why?
What is the perceived value of Oracle owning TikTok? It doesn't seem to have any place in their portfolio.
The service should simply be blocked. As a US Citizen, I trust President Trump far more than I trust Larry Ellison.
I heard that Oracle was going to be TikTok's U.S. "technology partner"
So ByteDance is not selling TikTok to Oracle, but Oracle will be the guardian and owner of all of TikTok's U.S. user data. That is supposedly meant as a way to get around Trump's executive order, at least long enough for Joe Biden to (maybe) win the election and bring a more China-friendly administration into power.
I can only assume that TikTok hopes that Oracle being completely absent from the social media sector, it will give them a free rein to keep doing whatever it is that they want to do. Oracle, on the other side, I have no idea why they would want that; but I'm pretty sure TikTok won't like it when they know.