Trump may extend TikTok's lease, many parties are negotiating an acquisition

In an interview with NBC News on January 18, President-elect Donald Trump said he would "most likely" give TikTok another 90 days to cut ties with its Chinese shareholders, helping the company temporarily escape the ban on operating in the US from January 19.

Previously, the US Congress passed a law requiring TikTok to abandon its ties with Chinese shareholders, specifically its parent company ByteDance, or it would be banned from operating from January 19. The US Supreme Court agreed with this law on January 17.

President-elect Donald Trump says he will likely extend TikTok's stay

"A 90-day extension is the most likely thing that will happen, because it's appropriate. If I decide to do that, I'll probably announce it on January 20," Mr. Trump said, referring to his inauguration day.

TikTok announced on January 17 that it will stop operating in the US on January 19 unless President Joe Biden assures TikTok's main service providers such as Apple and Google that they will not be subject to legal action when the ban takes effect.

President Biden has said the decision rests with the next administration, which is set to take office on January 20. The law allows the incumbent president to extend the deadline by 90 days if there is progress in acquiring shares from ByteDance.

American influencer hopes Tieu Hong Thu will keep the wave of "migrants" from TikTok

Perplexity AI in talks to buy TikTok

According to AP, artificial intelligence (AI) startup Perplexity AI sent ByteDance a proposal on January 18 to form a new company that would merge Perplexity with TikTok US. If successful, the new structure would include other investors and allow current ByteDance shareholders to retain TikTok shares. The proposal did not include a price tag, but sources estimated the deal would be worth at least $50 billion.

Canadian investor Kevin O'Leary (of Shark Tank fame) and billionaire Frank McCourt have also offered to buy TikTok US. Mr. O'Leary said he offered $20 billion but also acknowledged the legal issues of this case, including whether Mr. Trump's executive order can legally postpone the ban, according to AFP.

TikTok logo at company headquarters in Culver City, California

TikTok faces huge losses

It is unclear whether TikTok will stop operating completely from January 19. Experts say that with the content of the law, TikTok users can still access the application but will not be updated, eventually making the platform unusable.

TikTok has about 170 million users in the US, most of whom are young people. A segment of content creators and small businesses rely on TikTok to earn income.

If banned, TikTok would suffer huge financial losses. The company’s lawyers say that if the ban lasts a month, TikTok would lose 29% of its total targeted advertising revenue globally, as well as losing talented, promising employees.

If TikTok is banned, rival platforms like Instagram’s Reels and YouTube’s Shorts will benefit. Thousands of TikTok users have already switched to China’s Xiaohongshu, a social network similar to Instagram.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ong-trump-co-the-gia-han-cho-tiktok-nhieu-ben-dang-dam-phan-mua-lai-185250119074030749.htm