TikTok wants to avoid the ban in the US by partnering with Oracle

Chinese TikTok has been controversial for years In Europe As the US With the narrow lines between TikTok owner ByteDance and the Chinese government, lawmakers fear for users’ privacy. In the US, TikTok was almost forced to sell when Donald Trump was president. After peaceful For a while, but President Biden’s government has now again criticized TikTok.

TikTok is now reportedly working on a new counterattack The New York Times. That attack is called the ‘Texas Project’, which has recently been presented to think tanks, scientists and other experts. TikTok’s new project is working with American tech giant Oracle. From now on, the company will have to verify and sign TikTok’s code and algorithm before using them, the site said. Law BlogThis happened at the TikTok conference.

Remove the back doors

Oracle checks TikTok’s code, apps, systems and algorithms to exclude ‘backdoors’. Backdoors are vulnerabilities left in code intentionally, for example, to allow users to be tracked. Such doors are difficult to detect from the outside, but the oracle will specifically check for them.

Under Project Texas, the second audit will be performed by a party appointed by the US government. In this way, TikTok hopes to gain the trust of that government and thus avoid a ban in the United States. With that plan, TikTok’s US branch will be housed in a separate entity whose management will also be approved by the US government. There will also be an annual independent audit.

It costs billions

The project cost TikTok $1.5 billion to set up, and $700 million to $1 billion a year to keep it running.

The collaboration with Oracle was already evident. Byte Dance and Oracle have already closed in 2020 A contractWhile there was still talk of a forced sale of TikTok’s US branch.

Interesting steps for the EU too

TikTok’s American plans are also interesting for Europeans. If successful, TikTok would like to do a similar arrangement here. The European Union has also been critical of TikTok. The European Commission previously called out TikTok Again this month To further comply with European data regulations.

European Commissioner Thierry Breton said this month that it was “unacceptable” for TikTok users to view “harmful and sometimes life-threatening” videos. In addition, Breton warned of measures Europe could take against TikTok, including a European ban.