In the middle of all the furious activity in his first week as US President, you’d think Donald J. Trump wouldn’t have time to deal with the fate of a foreign social media app that he once branded as a national security threat.
But if we thought that, we’d be wrong – because among the multitude of disruptive, revolutionary initiatives in his second term, Trump has found the time to keep a close what on the fate of Chinese TikTok.
He told reporters yesterday (27) that software giant Microsoft is currently in talks to acquire TikTok, further stating that he would like to see a bidding war over the app.
Read: BREAKING: TikTok Officially Banned in the United States – President Trump Expected to Reinstate App
Reuters reported:
“TikTok, which has about 170 million American users, was briefly taken offline just before a law requiring its Chinese owner ByteDance to either sell it on national security grounds or face a ban took effect on Jan. 19.
Trump, after taking office on Jan. 20, signed an executive order seeking to delay by 75 days the enforcement of the law.”
Last week, Trump said to have been in talks with multiple parties over the purchase of TikTok, and that a decision on the popular app’s future would probably arrive in 30 days.
Read: UPDATE: “I Would Like the United States to Have a 50% Ownership Position” – President Trump Releases Statement on Plans to Reinstate TikTok in the United States – UPDATE: TikTok Thanks President Trump and Plans to Reinstate US Access
“The U.S. president has previously said that he was open to billionaire Elon Musk buying the social media app if the Tesla CEO wanted to do so. Musk, however, has not publicly commented on Trump’s offer.”
US-based AI startup Perplexity AI made a proposal on Sunday (26) to merge with TikTok, with the U.S. government getting up to half of the new company in the future.
The reported Microsoft talks are the second attempt to acquire TikTok. During the first Trump term, he mandated TikTok to split its U.S. version from Chinese ByteDance, mentioning pressing national security concerns.
“Microsoft emerged as a top bidder in 2020, but the talks soon collapsed, and Trump’s divestment push ended a few months later when he left office.”
Read more:
Trump Outlines His Plan For TikTok — Wants Elon Musk or Larry Ellison to Purchase Company in Joint U.S. Venture (VIDEO)
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