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Donald Trump discusses TikTok’s future with possible talks with Xi Jinping as the US deadline for ByteDance’s sale or ban approaches.
US President Donald Trump. (Reuters Image)
US President Donald Trump he will speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping “at the right time” about TikTok, as the Chinese-owned app faces a looming deadline to be sold or banned in the United States. Hinting at yet another delay in enforcing the divest-or-ban law.
Donald Trump said, “I haven’t spoken to President Xi about it. At the right time, when we’re set, I’ll do it. In the meantime, until the complexity of things work out, we just extend a little bit longer.”
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The US President downplayed national security concerns over TikTok, calling them “highly overrated,” and said he personally liked the platform.
“I’m a fan of TikTok. My kids like TikTok. Young people love TikTok. If we can keep it going, good. We’re going to watch the security concerns. And we have buyers, American buyers,” he said.
The White House launched its own TikTok account earlier this week, underscoring Washington’s balancing act between worries over Chinese ownership and the app’s immense popularity among US users.
The US Congress passed the sale-or-ban law last year under then-President Joe Biden, requiring TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to divest its US operations. The legislation went into effect on January 19 and TikTok briefly went offline before Donald Trump, in one of his first acts of his second term, signed an order delaying the ban’s enforcement by 75 days. He has since extended the deadline three times, most recently in June. The current cutoff date is September 17.
TikTok, with 170 million users in the United States, has become a flashpoint in fraught US-China relations. Washington says it fears Beijing could compel ByteDance to share user data under Chinese national security laws- something TikTok denies.
Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden launched TikTok accounts during the 2024 presidential campaign despite earlier warning about the app’s risks, drawing scrutiny from critics who accused them of sending mixed signals.
- Location :
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
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