Inside China Tech: The tech world becomes increasingly political
- Some Republican lawmakers have already urged the Trump administration to reject the proposed TikTok-Oracle deal
- Although Republicans have accused Democrats of being soft on China, many analysts see the current conflict as more long term and structural in nature
Here is a wrap up of some leading tech stories from this past week.
The clock is ticking
Political posturing by the Trump administration, according to analysts, adds to uncertainty over whether a deal between TikTok and Oracle Corp, which would prevent the short video-sharing service from being banned in the US, will be approved by Washington before a September 20 deadline.
“I don‘t think we can ignore the broader context in which this is happening, which is continuing to want to look tough on China,” said Justin Sherman, non-resident fellow for the cyber statecraft initiative at Washington-based think tank the Atlantic Council.
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Oracle reaches deal to become TikTok’s ‘technology partner’, after Microsoft offer is rejected
“Pretty much everything the president has done and does on foreign policy is politically driven. It’s about ‘political posturing, looking tough, securing good deals’.”
Unlike the outright sale of TikTok’s US business that Trump wanted under an executive order he signed last month, the deal would make Oracle a “trusted technology provider”, the US tech company confirmed on Monday. Oracle would take over management of TikTok’s user data in the US, according to a Reuters report.
Some Republican lawmakers have already urged the Trump administration to reject the proposed TikTok-Oracle deal. While Trump has the authority to sign off on a deal, national security officials’ concerns could sway his decision. TikTok has repeatedly said it has never been asked by the Chinese government to remove any content, and that the company would not do so if asked.