Microsoft in Talks to Acquire TikTok Operations

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok, a popular social media platform with around 170 million users in the United States. #Trump expressed support for a competitive bidding process, stating, “We’re going to have a lot of people bidding on it.” He also emphasized that #China would not be involved in TikTok’s US operations, citing concerns over #dataprivacy and national security.

This comes after years of #US government pressure on TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell its US #operations. Microsoft had previously explored acquiring #TikTok during Trump’s first term, but those discussions fell through. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella described the initial talks as “the strangest thing I’ve ever worked on.” Despite this, the tech #giant has renewed its interest in the platform.

Other potential #buyers have also entered the scene, including billionaire Elon Musk, though he has not publicly commented. Meanwhile, AI startup Perplexity has proposed a #merger with TikTok, suggesting a future where the US government could own up to half of the new #company.

The situation remains uncertain, but Trump has indicated a decision on TikTok’s #future could come within 30 days.