LOS ANGELES, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Video-sharing social networking platform TikTok on Saturday voiced hope that an agreement reached by its Chinese parent company ByteDance with Oracle and Walmart will "resolve the security concerns of the U.S. administration and settle questions around TikTok's future in the U.S."
The Los Angeles-based company issued a statement Saturday afternoon, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had approved a deal between the three parties.
TikTok disclosed some details about the three-party agreement handed over to the authority Monday and weighted by the White House so far, saying Oracle will become its "trusted technology provider," and Walmart will play a role in "commercial partnership."
As part of this proposal, Oracle would be in charge of hosting TikTok's all U.S. user data and securing associated computer systems to "ensure U.S. national security requirements are fully satisfied," the statement noted.
According to the company, as of June, the total number of TikTok's monthly active users in the country soared to 91,937,040, and based on quarterly usage, 100 million Americans used the app.
Trump and some U.S. politicians have repeatedly speculated that TikTok poses a national security threat to the country, though no evidence has been provided to support the allegations.
U.S. Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross noted that Trump has provided until Nov. 12 for the national security concerns posed by TikTok to be resolved. "If they are, the prohibitions in this order may be lifted," Ross said.
A TikTok representative said in a statement acquired by Xinhua on Friday that the Los Angeles-based tech company disagrees with the U.S. Commerce Department's decision and felt disappointed that it will block the download and update of the company's popular app starting Sunday.
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Saturday that it is resolutely opposed to the U.S. move to block downloads of WeChat and TikTok apps, urging the United States to immediately stop bullying and safeguard international rules and order.
In the absence of any evidence, the United States has repeatedly used state power to suppress the two enterprises for unwarranted reasons, which seriously disrupted their normal business activities, undermined the confidence of international investors in the U.S. investment environment and damaged the normal global economic and trade order, the MOC said in a statement.
The Commerce Department's statement came following Trump's Aug. 6 executive order banning any U.S. transactions with ByteDance, starting in 45 days. A similar order was issued for WeChat, which is owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent. Enditem
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