TikTok In Collaboration With TalkShopLive Launching Shopping Platform On Social Media

JAKARTA - TikTok will partner with Los Angeles-based TalkShopLive to launch a direct shopping platform in North America by outsourcing its operations. This was reported by the Financial Times on Saturday, October 1 citing two people familiar with the operation.

TikTok itself is still finalizing the arrangements, and so far no contract has been signed in the cooperation plan.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters, while a TalkShopLive representative also declined to comment.

Bytedance's live shopping platform TikTok Shop is now available in Asian markets including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The platform itself was launched in the UK last year.

TikTok Shop allows users to purchase products via a link in the app during a live broadcast, and the Los Angeles-based TalkShopLive app works on a similar concept. TalkShopLive describes itself as a "live streaming, social buying and selling platform", on its website.

TalkShopLive signed an agreement with major US retailer, Walmart, last year to provide embeddable video content on Walmart.com.

The reported partnership comes at a time when TikTok, which considers the United States its biggest market, is facing tougher scrutiny from US lawmakers who question Chinese-owned apps' protection of user data in the country.