United States President Donald Trump indicated on Monday aboard Air Force One, that American giant Microsoft is in negotiations to purchase Tiktok, an app from the Chinese company bytedance.
Bytedance is being pressured by a law that came into force on January 19, determining that the Chinese company sells Tiktok operation in the US for national security reasons. Otherwise, the application would face a ban throughout US territory.
“I would say yes,” Trump said about the existence of negotiations between Microsoft and the application. “There is a lot of interest in Tiktok. There is a great interest in Tiktok, ”he added.
Tiktok, which has about 170 million American users, was briefly withdrawn this month before the law entered into force, but with the possession of Trump, on January 20, the application returned to air, with the Republicing by signing on the same day a decree that advances for 75 days the application of the suspicion of the social network, which enables negotiations on the subject. According to Trump, a decision about Tiktok’s future should be made within 30 days.
“We are talking to several people about it,” said Trump.
Microsoft did not officially comment on the subject.
This is not the first time the American giant has been pointed out as Tiktok buying potential. In 2020, Trump’s first year, the company led by Satya Nadella was close to purchasing the American operation of the application after the Republican determined at that time that Tiktok was detached from Bytedance. However, the negotiations were closed shortly thereafter, before Trump’s end.
Among those interested in the acquisition of Tiktok, Trump also mentioned Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and member of his government, as a possible option, if he is interested. However, Musk did not comment on the subject. Another curious proposal recently emerged from the perplexity AI artificial intelligence startup, which suggested a fusion with Tiktok. According to information from Reutersproposal would include the possibility of the US government holding up to 50% of the new company in the future.