On Saturday, President Trump stated he is in talks with multiple parties regarding the acquisition of TikTok and may make a decision about its future within the next 30 days.
During a flight to Florida on Air Force One on Saturday, Trump told reporters, “I have discussed TikTok with many people, and there is a lot of interest in TikTok. As you know, I have the authority to sell or shut it down, depending on what I believe is most beneficial for the country.”
The President also dismissed reports that the White House is negotiating with Oracle for the acquisition of TikTok.
When asked if he was negotiating a purchase deal with Oracle and other investors, Trump said, “No, not Oracle. I am talking to many people, very important people, about the purchase of TikTok, and I may make a decision in the next 30 days.”
Trump also mentioned that he has not discussed buying TikTok with Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
Regarding a potential sale, Trump stated, “The United States will be a big beneficiary. Only when the United States benefits will I proceed.”
Earlier, Reuters reported that two sources familiar with the matter said the Trump administration is developing a plan involving software company Oracle and external investors to effectively control TikTok’s operations.
One source told Reuters that under the negotiation agreement currently underway at the White House, ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, would be allowed to retain a stake in TikTok, but data collection and software updates would be overseen by Oracle. However, the terms of any potential deal with Oracle are unstable and subject to change.
Oracle has had business dealings with TikTok, hosting data for U.S. users on its servers and reviewing the source code of the TikTok app before distributing it on app stores.
As TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, U.S. lawmakers believe that the Chinese government could exploit TikTok to access personal information of Americans, prompting espionage activities and using TikTok’s algorithms for targeted propaganda. TikTok denies that Beijing has any control over the app.
TikTok has 170 million users in the United States. On the first day of his presidency, Trump signed an executive order delaying by 75 days the enforcement of a ban on TikTok unless it is sold, aiming to allow his government to “determine the appropriate path forward in an orderly manner to protect national security while avoiding the sudden closure of communication platforms used by tens of millions of Americans.”
Trump emphasized that he believes the Chinese government will eventually approve the sale of TikTok, or else the U.S. may impose tariffs on Chinese products.