(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump informed journalists on Monday that Microsoft is in talks to procure TikTok and that he wish to see a bidding battle over the app. Microsoft declined to remark. TikTok and ByteDance didn’t straight away reply to Reuters’ requests for a remark outdoor common industry hours. TikTok, which has about 170 million American customers, used to be in brief taken offline simply earlier than a legislation requiring its Chinese language proprietor ByteDance to both promote it on nationwide safety grounds or face a ban took impact on Jan. 19. Trump, after taking workplace on Jan. 20, signed an government order in the hunt for to prolong by means of 75 days the enforcement of the legislation. Trump mentioned ultimate week that he used to be in talks with more than one other folks over purchasing TikTok and would most probably have a choice on the preferred app’s long run in 30 days. The U.S. president has prior to now mentioned that he used to be open to billionaire Elon Musk purchasing the social media app if the Tesla CEO sought after to take action. Musk, then again, has now not publicly commented on Trump’s be offering. Extra not too long ago, AI startup Perplexity AI on Sunday made a suggestion to merge with TikTok, with the U.S. executive getting as much as part of the brand new corporate in long run, a supply informed Reuters on Sunday. The reported talks mark the second one time that Microsoft has been within the body to procure TikTok. Throughout his first time period, Trump ordered TikTok to split its U.S. model from ByteDance mentioning nationwide safety considerations. Microsoft emerged as a most sensible bidder in 2020, however the talks quickly collapsed, and Trump’s divestment push ended a couple of months later when he left workplace. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella known as that deal the “strangest factor I have ever labored on.” The U.S. executive had a “explicit set of necessities after which it simply disappeared,” he mentioned in 2021. (Reporting by means of Nandita Bose, Costas Pitas and Shubham Kalia; Further reporting by means of Chandni Shah; Enhancing by means of Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Stephen Coates)
