TikTok sale to Oracle, Walmart 'shelved' by Biden administration – WSJ

President Joe Biden's administration has "shelved" a plan to force the sale of TikTok Inc.'s U.S. operations to a group that includes Walmart Inc. and Oracle Corp., The Wall Street Journal reported Feb. 10, citing people familiar with the situation.

Former President Donald Trump's administration had filed multiple executive actions against the Beijing Byte Dance Telecommunications Co. Ltd.-owned company, including an executive order that would require ByteDance to divest all U.S. assets and data related to TikTok within the U.S. The company has been contesting the effort in the courts. In December 2020, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction to TikTok, which blocked the U.S. Department of Commerce from banning transactions with the company.

Now, Biden's administration is undertaking a widescale review of efforts to assess possible national security risks from Chinese tech companies, according to the report.

TikTok is continuing discussions on data security concerns with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews the national security risks of foreign investments in the U.S., according to the report.

While Oracle and Walmart could still play a part in a future deal involving TikTok, The Wall Street Journal reported, any new deal would likely be different, because the company does not face an imminent risk of being shut down.