President Donald Trump will not be "happy" if ByteDance retains a majority share in TikTok.
Donald Trump
The world leader is set to be briefed on the proposed deal the Beijing firm has agreed with US data management firm Oracle today (17.09.20).
As per the Financial Times, ByteDance would likely have a majority stake in the video platform.
However, Trump has admitted that "conceptually" he's against the idea of ByteDance having such a majority control over TikTok because he believes it poses a national security threat.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference this week, Trump said: "Just conceptually, I can tell you I don't like that ... if that's the case, I'm not going to be happy with it.
"They're giving me studies on the deal, it has to be 100% as far as national security is concerned, and no I'm not prepared to sign off on anything, I have to see the deal."
Trump also spoke out about being told he wouldn't be able to receive a "chunk of the money" from TikTok's deal with a US firm.
He said: "Amazingly, I find that you're not allowed to do that. "What kind of a thing is this? ... I said, 'No, I want a big chunk of that money to go to the United States government because we made it possible,' and the lawyers come back to me and say there's no way of doing that."
The deal with Oracle came after they rejected an offer from Microsoft.
Sources close to the deal claimed it could see Oracle claim a stake in TikTok's US operations.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is overseeing the ByteDance and Oracle discussions.
Trump has made no secret of the fact he thinks TikTok poses a national security threat, which the company has profusely denied to be the case.
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