ByteDance walks away from TikTok deal with Oracle after Donald Trump’s White House exit

The app’s Chinese owner had agreed in principle to sell a stake in its US operations after the former president threatened to ban it. A source says Trump’s departure has destroyed its ‘raison d’être’. — SCMP

TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance shelved a deal to sell the video-sharing app’s US operations to a group led by Oracle following Donald Trump’s exit from the White House, according to a source who has been briefed on the situation.

“The deal was mainly designed to entertain demands from the Trump administration,” said the source, who declined to be named. “But Trump is gone, and the raison d’être of the deal is gone with him.”