
Trump claims buyer in place for TikTok’s US operation
Donald Trump announced on Sunday that a buyer had been found for the US wing of Chinese social media platform TikTok. In an interview with Fox News, he described the buyer as “a very wealthy group” and said that further details would be announced “in about two weeks”.
Trump also hinted that Chinese approval might be needed for the deal to go through, saying he expected President Xi Jinping to give it.
Due to a 2024 act of Congress, TikTok risks being banned in the US unless its parent company, ByteDance, relinquished control within 270 days. Concerns over data use and the potential influence on American public opinion have fuelled this legislative action.
Trump recently extended the sale period and set a new deadline of 17 September. Thanks to this decision, TikTok can continue operating with its more than 170 million users in the US.
Negotiations for the sale of TikTok were initially promising. In early April, a protocol emerged proposing a separation between TikTok US and ByteDance. The plan was for non-Chinese investors to increase their stake from 60% to 80%, with ByteDance retaining its current 20%. Oracle, which already hosts TikTok’s US data on American servers, would lead the transaction together with partners such as Blackstone and entrepreneur Michael Dell.
However, Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods, including a particularly high rate on technology products, blocked the deal on the Chinese side. The the two countries since reached an agreement in early June on a framework for normalising trade relations – guaranteeing that the US would lift certain restrictions and allow the export of controlled products, such as strategic metals used in advanced technologies.
Despite these geopolitical challenges, TikTok continues to thrive with 170 million users in the US, including 7.5 million business accounts, ranging from large corporations to small businesses. According to Appfigures, it is currently the second most downloaded app in the US on Android devices, just behind ChatGPT.
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