U.S. President Donald Trump revealed on Monday that Microsoft is in discussions to acquire TikTok, the popular social media app. He added that he would welcome a bidding war for TikTok’s ownership.
Key Details:
- TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, has about 170 million American users.
- A U.S. law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban went into effect on January 19.
- Trump recently delayed the enforcement of this law by 75 days through an executive order.
Potential Buyers:
- Microsoft previously attempted to buy TikTok in 2020 but described the process as “the strangest thing” it had worked on.
- Trump has also suggested that Elon Musk could buy TikTok, though Musk has not commented.
- On Sunday, AI startup Perplexity AI reportedly proposed merging with TikTok, with the U.S. government potentially owning a share of the new company.
Background:
This is the second time Microsoft has been considered as a potential buyer for TikTok. During Trump’s first term, similar concerns over national security led to a push for ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations.
Microsoft, TikTok, and ByteDance have not yet commented on the current discussions. Trump said a decision on TikTok’s future could be made within 30 days.
