There’s news circulating that Chinese officials are in talks to sell operations of TikTok in the U.S.to billionaire Elon Musk.
Reports on 14 January indicate that this is coming as the company faces a ban threat from regulators in the U.S. come Sunday 19 January.
However, TikTok has denied the rumors, saying there’s no ongoing discussions with Musk on selling the app.
TikTok’s long struggle
TikTok has faced a long battle with U.S. regulators for years now. The company has gone to court several times to answer on allegations of user privacy, content type, and security concerns among many others.
The latest case began in 2024 and still lingers in court, and is likely to culminate in a ban if nothing changes.
American lawmakers have long held the belief that TikTok is loyal to the Chinese communist party, which is the primary reason they are calling for its ban.
One of the lawmakers sponsoring the bill for the ban, Rep. Jake Auchincloss wrote on X on 21 December:
“TikTok is the most influential social media platform in America. It answers to the Chinese Communist Party – on data privacy, on content moderation, on its duty of care to underage users. The bill I co-led is simple: either TikTok follows U.S. law, or it stops doing business here.”
In a response, TikTok denied the allegations, saying it is willing to work with congress on making the internet safer for all users.
The company had appealed that the ruling on the case be delayed until after Donald Trump’s swearing in to allow for a different government to look into the case. Apparently, the request was denied.
Meanwhile, Musk had in April last year spoken against the ban on TikTok. In a tweet, he said a ban on TikTok would tamper with the right to free expression and competition and is wrong even though it would be positive for X, his social media company.
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