"We have a buyer for TikTok," Trump said on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" on 29/6. The buyer's identity is expected to be revealed within the next two weeks.
Trump added that the deal he is structuring may require approval from China and predicted that President Xi Jinping would likely agree.
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US President Donald Trump at the White House on 30/5. Photo: AFP |
US President Donald Trump at the White House on 30/5. Photo: AFP
Previously, several parties expressed interest in acquiring TikTok in the US, including software company Oracle, mobile technology company AppLovin, and billionaire Frank McCourt's Project Liberty.
The search for a US buyer for TikTok, owned by ByteDance, stems from the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversaries Control of Applications (PAFACA) enacted last year. Initially, the law mandated ByteDance to divest from TikTok or face a ban in the US by 20/1/2025.
After taking office on 20/1, President Trump signed an executive order postponing the law's implementation for 75 days. He then extended it for another 75 days. In an interview with NBC News last month, he stated he would grant further extensions if no agreement was reached. Earlier this month, he granted ByteDance a third extension, effective until 17/9.
TikTok currently has about 170 million users in the US. US officials are concerned that China could use TikTok to collect user data. However, TikTok has consistently denied this.
Phien An (Reuters)
