Trump won't extend deadline for TikTok biz sale in US

US President Donald Trump has categorically said he will not extend the September 20 deadline for China-based ByteDance, the parent company of Tiktok, to sell the US business of the popular short video-making app or face the complete ban.

TikTok business sales talk in the US has hit the roadblock after China's update of the technology export rules. The update covers Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies used by ByteDance, the Chinese firm that owns TikTok.

"We'll see what happens. It'll either be closed up or they'll sell it," Trump told reporters on Thursday, reports the CNN.

Trump maintained there will be "no extension of the TikTok deadline".


ByteDance said that "the company will strictly abide" by the new export rules imposed by China.

TikTok which has nearly 100 million users in the US is currently under pressure from the Trump administration to sell its operations quickly or face an effective ban.

While Walmart entered into the fray in partnership with Microsoft, Oracle is another top contender for the deal. An earlier report tentatively pegged the price of the deal in the $20-$30 billion range.


The first executive order from Trump on August 6 prohibited the China-based company from doing business with the US firms after 45 days.

The second executive order on August 14 directed ByteDance to "divest any data it obtained from users of TikTok or Musical.ly in the United States".

It also authorised US officials to inspect TikTok and ByteDance to ensure the safety of personal data of nearly 100 million American users of the short video making app.- IANS