Donald Trump says a buyer for TikTok may be finalised soon.
Share and Follow

President Donald Trump said in an interview there is a “buyer for TikTok,” teasing an announcement to come in “about two weeks.”

“We have a buyer for TikTok by the way. I think I’ll need probably China approval, and I think President Xi will probably do it,” the president said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.”

Asked who the buyer is going to be, Trump said, “I’ll tell you in about two weeks.”

“It’s a group of very wealthy people,” the president added.

Donald Trump says a buyer for TikTok may be finalised soon.
Donald Trump says a buyer for TikTok may be finalised soon. (iStock)

It’s been about five months since a law requiring TikTok to be banned in the United States unless it was sold off by its China-based parent company, ByteDance, technically went into effect.

But thanks to President Donald Trump’s promises not to enforce the law, neither of those things have happened, aside from an approximately 14-hour blackout in January.

Trump has instead signed three orders delaying enforcement on the ban.

As a June 19 deadline to enforce the sale-or-ban law approached earlier this month, Trump granted TikTok a 90-day extension. The deadline for its parent company ByteDance to hand over control of TikTok’s US operations is now September 17.

The delay raised questions about the status of a deal that could secure TikTok’s long-term future in the US. The Chinese government has offered little public indication that it would be willing to approve a sale beyond suggesting that any deal could not include TikTok’s “algorithm,” which has been called the app’s secret sauce.

“It’s a group of very wealthy people,” the president teased about the buyer. (AP)

In April, a deal that would have transferred majority control of TikTok’s US operations to American ownership was nearly finalised.

But it fell apart after Trump announced additional tariffs on China, forcing the president to announce another 75-day delay to keep the app operational in the United States.

“There are key matters to be resolved. Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law,” TikTok parent company ByteDance said after Trump’s tariff policy stalled progress on the deal in April.

Former president Joe Biden last year signed the sale-or-ban law last year to go into effect January 19. TikTok briefly took itself offline, sparking outcry from creators, but quickly came back after Trump signed his first order delaying the ban’s enforcement by 75 days. It was one of his first acts as president, made in hopes of reaching a deal to keep the app “alive.”

Share and Follow
You May Also Like

Syria Election Results: Low Female and Minority Representation in Initial Outcomes

Syrian authorities published preliminary results of their indirect vote for the first…
Australians are being hit with a potato shortage after growers experienced what they said has been one of the toughest seasons in a decade. 

Australians Face Potato Shortage Across the Country After the Most Challenging Season in Ten Years

Australians are being hit with a potato shortage, with growers having experienced…
Dezi Freeman

Brother Suspects Accused Cop Killer is Deceased: ‘Cold, Lonely, and Fearful’

The brother of accused cop killer Dezi Freeman believes the fugitive is…
Deloitte to partially refund the government after using AI in $440,000 report

Deloitte Agrees to Partial Refund to Government for AI-Generated Report Worth $440,000

Deloitte will partially refund the federal government after admitting to using artificial…
Australia facing skyrocketing insurance costs caused by extreme weather

Australia Grapples with Soaring Insurance Prices Due to Severe Weather Conditions

Extreme weather events in Australia are costing insurers a staggering $4.5 billion…
Kym Cavigan

Victorian Woman Sues Sportsbet After Accountant Squanders Her Life Savings

A Victorian woman who lost her life savings after her accountant gambled…

France’s recently appointed prime minister steps down just weeks after taking office.

France’s Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has resigned just hours after forming his…
Swiss International Air Lines aircrafts and easyJet aircraft are parked on the tarmac of the Geneve Aeroport due to the coronavirus COVI-19, in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, March 24, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic a large number of flights of the Swiss carrier and easyJet carrier have been cancelled and part part thier fleet grounding at the airport in Geneva. (KEYSTONE/Salvatore Di Nolfi)

Significant Updates This Week on Aussies Traveling to Europe

Australians travelling to Europe could face longer queues at the border amid…