Oracle’s Executive Vice President, Ken Glueck, revealed that the company had four meetings focused on technical mitigations for a data storage project. The meetings were held with members of the Senate Commerce Committee and the Intelligence Committee, with two being in person and two via Zoom. The discussions were organized with the help of lobbying firms Fierce Government Relations and Polaris Government Relations.
Glueck made it clear that Oracle did not advocate for or against the TikTok bill, but simply disclosed the meetings in the interest of transparency. Market analysts have pointed out that if TikTok is banned, Oracle could face financial challenges as it could lose a major customer in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, potentially impacting its revenue.
The Commerce Committee is led by Sen. Maria Cantwell, while Sen. Mark Warner chairs the Intelligence Committee. A bill related to TikTok has gained traction in Congress, with key support already in the Senate. Both Cantwell and Warner have indicated that TikTok might need up to a year to divest from ByteDance if the ban becomes law under President Joe Biden.
Following reports that TikTok lobbyists were unhappy with Oracle’s lobbying efforts, it was revealed that Oracle paid $90,000 to Fierce and $80,000 to Polaris in the first three months of the year for their services related to legislation on TikTok. This included providing technical assistance to congressional offices, which the IRS defines as expert guidance sought by lawmakers during the legislative process.
Oracle is a major player in Washington lobbying, having spent over $2.4 million this year on influencing policy, including internal lobbying related to TikTok and other issues. The four meetings held by Oracle with Senate committees underscore the company’s efforts to address technical aspects of data storage projects while navigating potential legislation related to TikTok.
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https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2024/04/22/oracle-met-with-senate-aides-on-tiktok-data-housing-project.html