US President Donald Trump signed a decree postponing the ban on TikTok across the country after taking office. Microsoft is in talks to buy Chinese social media platform, US President Donald Trump said.
TikTok, which has about 170 million American users, went offline briefly just before a law went into effect on Jan. 19 that required its Chinese owner ByteDance to either sell the app or face a ban on national security grounds.
TRUMP EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR TIKTOK After taking office on Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order to delay the implementation of the law by 75 days. Trump said last week that he was in talks with multiple people about buying TikTok and that he would likely make a decision on the future of the popular app within 30 days.
HE HAD CONSIDERED ELON MUSK The US President had previously said that he was open to Tesla CEO Elon Musk wanting to buy the social media app. However, Musk has not publicly commented on Trump’s offer. During his first term as president, Trump wanted TikTok to be separated from ByteDance, citing national security concerns. Microsoft emerged as one of the top bidders in 2020, but talks quickly collapsed and Trump’s push for sales ended when he left office a few months later.
