Trump says Microsoft in discussions to acquire TikTok
In this photo illustration, a mobile phone featuring the TikTok app is displayed next to the Microsoft logo on August 03, 2020 in New York City. Under threat of a U.S. ban on the popular social media app, it has been reported that Microsoft is considering taking over from Chinese firm ByteDance. (Photo Illustration by Cindy Ord/Getty Images) Cindy Ord / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
US President Donald Trump said Monday that Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok, while the app's future in the country faces uncertainty.
TikTok is facing down a US law that ordered the company to divest from its Chinese owner ByteDance or be banned in the United States.
Asked late Monday if Microsoft was in discussion for acquiring TikTok, Trump told reporters: "I would say yes."
"There's a lot of interest in TikTok, there's great interest in TikTok," he added aboard Air Force One.
He noted that a "bidding war" would also be a good development.
A law banning the video-sharing platform took effect 19 January over concerns that the Chinese government could exploit it to spy on Americans or covertly influence US public opinion.
But Trump has suspended its implementation for two and a half months, seeking a solution with Beijing.
Microsoft is among likely buyers who would have a reason to invest in TikTok, said Angelo Zino at CFRA Research.
He believes Microsoft "has had a desire to get more entrenched into the digital ad space."
TikTok temporarily shut down in the United States as the deadline for the law approached.
Trump then promised to issue an executive order as soon as he took office to delay the ban to allow time to "make a deal."
TikTok restored service subsequently in the country, crediting Trump for making the reversal possible — though the outgoing Biden administration had earlier said that it would not enforce any ban.
In his first White House stint, Trump had attempted to ban TikTok in the United States on national security concerns.