US Ban On TikTok In App Stores Postponed Until Sept 27; President Trump Says Oracle Deal Has His 'Blessing'

In a positive development for TikTok, the app ban in US app stores has been postponed until September 27 as its Oracle-Walmart deal has President Donald Trump's "blessing".

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Washington DC: The US Department of Commerce has announced that the TikTok ban in App Stores has been postponed "in light of recent positive developments".  The US Department of Commerce had on Friday stated that the distribution of TikTok on app stores like the Apple App Store and Google Play Store will be prohibited, and a stricter ban against the app will be imposed from November 12. Users who already have downloaded the app can continue using it, but they will not receive any app updates from Sunday. However, shortly after TikTok confirmed its deal for US operations involving Oracle as a technology partner and Walmart as a business partner, a press release was issued announcing the delay. Oracle had confirmed earlier that it had reached a deal with the app's parent company, ByteDance, to be it's US trusted partner. Meanwhile, talking to the media, US President Donald Trump said that the deal has "blessing" and that he approves it in concept. On August 6, Trump issued an executive order banning US transactions with ByteDance, citing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. On August 14, he signed a second executive order that forces ByteDance to sell or spin off its U.S. TikTok business within 90 days. The controversy around TikTok is over concerns of data security and whether the Chinese-origin app is sharing users' information with its government. ByteDance is yet to comment on the proposed TikTok deal, which also needs approval by the Chinese government. WATCH | US: Package containing poison 'Ricin' sent to President Trump