US President Donald Trump has claimed Microsoft is in talks to buy TikTok.
Donald Trump has claimed Microsoft is in talks to buy TikTok.
The President of the United States is keen to see a “bidding war” for the social media app, after both he and his predecessor Joe Biden spent years trying to force the platform’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell off its operations in the US over security concerns.
Asked by reporters whether Microsoft is among those preparing a bid, he said: “I would say yes.”
A spokesperson for Microsoft told the BBC that they had “nothing to share at this time”.
Last week, Trump delayed a ban from the Biden Administration which saw TikTok briefly taken offline.
The app has been given a 75-day reprieve, but Trump is pushing ByteDance towards a sale.
On Monday (27.01.25), Trump addressed Republican politicians and addressed the potential sale, insisting: “We’ll see what happens. We’re going to have a lot of people bidding on it.”
Trump has said he would like to give the Chinese owners a “permit” to continue operating in the US, but only if it is 50 per cent owned by America.
This has led to much speculation about which US entity could buy TikTok.
A recent report from NPR suggested Trump was talking to cloud computing and database giant Oracle about a takeover, but he has since denied this claim.
Speaking to reporters over the weekend, he said: “No, not with Oracle. Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it and I will make that decision probably over the next 30 days. Congress has given 90 days.”
TikTok – which has refused to sell up and accused the US government of impinging on citizens’ right to free speech with the ban – is back up and running for US users for the time being with its future still in doubt.
However, ByteDance is determined to come to a “long-term solution” with Trump.
The company said: “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.
“We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
Donald Trump expects Microsoft to bid for TikTok
