iWorld
Trump approves TikTok deal ‘in concept’
NEW DELHI: It seems that the Byte Dance owned short video platform TikTok has got a breather in the US after the president had ordered the app to be banned in the region, citing national security concerns.
During the weekend, President Donald Trump gave his nod to a multiparty deal ‘in concept’, under which TikTok will be partly owned by Oracle and Walmart. Media reports say that TikTok is seeking a valuation of 60 billion dollars of. Oracle will hold 12.5 per cent and Walmart will hold 7.5 per cent stake. Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic, already investors in TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance, are also expected to take stakes in the new company.
“I have given the deal my blessing. If they get it done that’s great. If they don’t, that’s OK too,” Trump told reporters Saturday. “I approved the deal in concept.”
TikTok and ByteDance both welcomed President Trump’s approval of a proposed deal, which would still need to be signed off by the Chinese government.
TikTok said the deal would ensure US national security requirements were fully satisfied, while ByteDance said it was working to reach an agreement that was “in line with the US and Chinese law” as soon as possible.
TikTok interim chief executive Vanessa Pappas said in a video posted on Saturday that the app was “here to stay” in the US.
#WeAreTikTok and we are here to stay! pic.twitter.com/AaA8OhpvGx
— TikTok (@tiktok_us) September 19, 2020
President Trump’s support for the deal comes days after his administration said it would bar people in the US from downloading TikTok through any app store starting 20 September.
The deal is more like a joint venture between three companies where Oracle will be acting as a “trusted partner” safeguarding the data of users. If one looks closely at the newly proposed deal, it is not what president Trump has initially demanded as it still allows TikTok’s Chinese owner Bytedance a controlling stake.
It is expected that TikTok Global will likely be headquartered in Texas and will hire “at least” 25,000 people, Trump said. TikTok will need to recruit thousands of content moderators, engineers and marketing staff that were previously located in China and around the world.
At present, the ban on TikTok has been delayed by a week by the US authorities.
For the record, the app has been already banned in India by the Indian government along with several other Chinese apps.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
