US President Donald Trump said he has secured “a group of very wealthy people” to acquire TikTok’s US operations, adding that he plans to disclose details of the deal in roughly two weeks. Trump made the remarks Saturday in an interview with Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, where he also discussed China tariffs and Middle East policy. The potential transaction would still require Beijing’s approval. Under China’s export control rules, the technologies behind TikTok’s algorithm-driven recommendations fall under restricted categories, meaning ByteDance needs authorization from Chinese authorities before proceeding with a sale. Trump recently signed an order extending the deadline for TikTok’s US divestiture by another 90 days, to Sept. 17 — the third such delay. While companies ranging from Amazon to AI startup Perplexity AI have expressed interest, no concrete deal has emerged. Trump has also floated placing TikTok into a proposed US sovereign wealth fund to secure American stakes and ensure data oversight, underscoring the geopolitical tensions tied to the platform’s ownership. [Bloomberg]
Related
