TikTok’s working deal with U.S. tech giant Oracle to avoid a ban in the United States could soon be in tatters because of Chinese opposition, so the Beijing-owned video-sharing network has turned to form relationships with major American social media platforms.
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison canceled a cable news appearance Wednesday to talk about a forthcoming deal, as Chinese state-run media published an editorial labeling the deal a “dirty and underhanded trick.”
China Daily, a Chinese Communist Party newspaper, published an unsigned editorial Wednesday arguing that the United States’ expressed national security concerns are a cover for anti-competitive behavior.
“What the United States has done to TikTok is almost the same as a gangster forcing an unreasonable and unfair business deal on a legitimate company,” the Chinese editorial read.
U.S. officials have called for a ban on TikTok, saying the data of its American users could end up in the hands of China’s communist government. TikTok has denied the charge and has sought an American partner to ease U.S. suspicions.
Mr. Ellison was scheduled to appear on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria,” but his appearance was abruptly canceled Tuesday evening after he had talked with television personality Maria Bartiromo about the composition of a board for a tech company that could emerge from TikTok’s burgeoning arrangement with Oracle.
“As I have been reporting I did have an exclusive conversation with Larry Ellison this week and he told me that on the board, four out of five of the board members will be American and the fifth one is going to be likely Japanese, Masa Son,” Ms. Bartiromo said in a statement. “We wanted to bring you an interview sit-down with Larry Ellison, unfortunately, Larry Ellison could not sit down this week as scheduled but we will speak with him exclusively again very soon.”
Oracle and China’s differing media strategies shed light on the challenges facing any deal for TikTok that would satisfy the U.S. government. The Commerce Department said Friday that it would start banning U.S. transactions with TikTok starting on Sunday, but Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross Jr. later clarified that ’the basic TikTok will stay intact until November 12th.”
While Oracle and TikTok’s China-based owner, ByteDance, have worked toward a deal amenable to the U.S. government and China, TikTok has separately courted the support of its American social media rivals.
TikTok interim head Vanessa Pappas wrote Tuesday to the leaders of nine social media companies and tech platforms urging them to form a new coalition to fight “harmful content” on their platforms.
Ms. Pappas’ letter was sent to the leaders of Facebook, Google, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, Twitch, Twitter and YouTube, and was spurred by recent cross-postings of graphic suicide content on their services.
In addition to its efforts to work with American tech companies, TikTok has engaged with American organizations and government officials to better address election-related content on its platform.
“TikTok is working with a range of academics, civil society organizations, and experts as well as the [Department of Homeland Security’s] Countering Foreign Influence Task Force (CFITF) to help stop the threat and dangers of foreign influence,” TikTok spokeswoman Jamie Favazza said in an email. “In addition to sharing insight about possible disinformation campaigns across the industry, the task force connects local election officials with online platforms and law enforcement so that we can help protect the integrity of the vote.”
TikTok also released new details about the 104.5 million videos removed from its platform in the first six months of 2020 in a “transparency report.” The report said the total number of videos removed amounted to less that 1% of all videos uploaded and that 9.4% of the blocked videos were from the United States.
Nearly 42,000 videos were removed in the U.S. for violating misinformation and disinformation policies, while more than 321,000 videos were blocked in the U.S. for violating hate speech priorities.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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