Donald Trump announces major update on TikTok ban as he begins 'two week' countdown
Topics: Donald Trump, News, US News, Technology, China, TikTok
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Joe Raedle
Topics: Donald Trump, News, US News, Technology, China, TikTok
President Donald Trump was tight-lipped about the future of TikTok during a recent interview, but he gave an update about the app that may come as good news for avid users of the video-scrolling app.
The fate of TikTok has been up in the air for a while now, and has proved to be a hot topic across the US.
The whole issue initially arose when the US government passed a law demanding that ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, sell the platform due to national security concerns.
The fear was that Beijing could use the app to harvest data about American citizens, or use it to influence individuals in America.
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China has denied both of these accusations.
Back in April of this year, Trump took to his own social media platform to speak on what progress was being made in regards to selling the platform.
He said: “My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress. The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days.
“We hope to continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs (Necessary for Fair and Balanced Trade between China and the U.S.A.!).
"This proves that Tariffs are the most powerful Economic tool, and very important to our National Security!
"We do not want TikTok to 'go dark'. We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Now, in a new interview with Fox News, Trump explained that more progress had been made and that there is a buyer for the platform.
Speaking on Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, Trump said: “We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way. I think I’ll probably need China’s approval and I think President Xi will probably do it.”
Bartiromo pressed Trump to reveal who was buying the popular social media platform.
He replied: “I’ll tell you in about two weeks. They are very wealthy people, it is a group of very wealthy people.”
If no deal is reached by 17 September, the app could once again face a US ban and be pulled from app stores.
This could be crucial for Trump’s popularity as he has previously said he has a warm spot for the platform because it played a role in him getting elected for a second term, particularly with youthful voters.