Bota Posted on 2025-01-28 11:55:00

"Microsoft in talks to buy TikTok" - Trump confirms negotiations and high interest in the app

From Kristi Ceta

"Microsoft in talks to buy TikTok" - Trump confirms negotiations and

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that Microsoft is in talks to buy TikTok. This is the second time that a purchase of the app has been discussed, after negotiations failed during Trump's first term.

United States President Donald Trump has said that Microsoft is in talks to buy the TikTok app.

When asked if Microsoft was in talks to buy the app, the US president said "I would say yes", adding that "there is a lot of interest in the platform".

During his first term, Trump ordered TikTok to split its US version from ByteDance, citing national security concerns. Microsoft was a leading candidate to buy it in 2020, but talks quickly fell through and Trump's push ended a few months later when he left office.

TikTok, which has about 170 million American users, was temporarily shut down this month, shortly before the introduction of a law requiring its Chinese owner ByteDance to sell it on national security grounds or face a ban on the app.

Trump, after taking office on Jan. 20, signed an executive order that delays the law by 75 days. He said last week that he was in talks with multiple parties about buying TikTok and would likely make a decision on the app's future within 30 days.

Recently, startup Perplexity AI made a proposal to merge with TikTok, with the US government taking up to half of the new company in the future.

In 2021, Microsoft's CEO called the app talks "the strangest thing I've ever worked on." The US government had "a specific set of requirements and then it just disappeared," he added.

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