Washington: On the one hand, the Prime Minister of America Donald Trump is saying that many he ban TikTok in the US, on the other hand, the American giant Microsoft Corp is preparing to take command of Tik Tok.
The tech giant is in talks with TikTok’s parent company ByteDance. The development comes as the US government weighs harsh action against the Chinese app and prepares to force ByteDance to divest its ownership in TikTok over data security concerns.
While the (US) government was ready to announce an order as soon as Friday, the decision was put on hold, pending further consideration by President Donald Trump.
Talking to reporters on Friday at the White House, Trump said that “we are looking at TikTok. We may be banning TikTok” adding that his government is “looking at a lot of alternatives with respect to TikTok”.
Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing anonymous sources, that the Trump administration could soon announce a decision ordering ByteDance to divest its ownership in TikTok.
Meanwhile, other prospective buyers could also come forward to buy the popular video app. The potential suitors to buy the Chinese app include Microsoft industry peers such as Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, and Facebook.