JUNE 30 – President Donald Trump has said he has a buyer for TikTok, the video-sharing app that was banned in the US amid claims it posed a national security risk.
In a Fox News interview, Trump said he had a group of “very wealthy people” willing to acquire the platform. “I’ll tell you in about two weeks,” he teased.
A sale would need approval from the Chinese government, but Trump told Fox he thought President Xi Jinping “will probably do it”.
This month Trump delayed for a third time the enforcement of a law mandating TikTok’s sale.
The latest extension requires parent company ByteDance to reach a deal to sell the platform by 17 September.
The BBC has contacted TikTok for comment.
A previous deal to sell TikTok to an American buyer fell apart in April, when the White House clashed with China over Trump’s tariffs.
It is not clear if the current buyer Trump says he has has lined up is the same as the one who was waiting in the wings three months ago.
The US Congress passed a law forcing TikTok’s sale in April last year, with lawmakers citing fears that the app or its parent company could hand over US user data to the Chinese government, which TikTok denied.
Trump had criticised the app during his first term, but came to see it as a factor in his 2024 election win and now supports its continued use in the US.
The law was supposed to take effect on 19 January, but Trump has repeatedly delayed its enforcement through executive actions, moves that have drawn criticism for overruling congressional lawmakers.
TikTok challenged the constitutionality of the law, but lost its appeal to the US Supreme Court.
By BBC
