The Chinese government is currently deciding whether to sell ByteDance’s TikTok to Elon Musk following the decision of the US Supreme Court to ban the app on the 19th of January.
According to local reports, Beijing officials prefer that TikTok remain under the ownership of ByteDance Ltd., and the company is contesting the impending ban with an appeal to the US Supreme Court.
Senior Chinese officials are considering this option as a contingency plan because the justices are likely to uphold the law, as they had signalled on the 10th of January. If the sale happens, Elon Musk’s X would acquire TikTok US, possibly merging TikTok US into its ad revenue program.
Read also: Appeal Court upholds TikTok’s sale or ban in the US
If the ban takes effect on the 19th, new users will no longer be able to download TikTok on Apple or Google Play, although existing users will still have access.
The U.S. government and TikTok agree that the app would degrade and eventually become unusable over time because the company would not be able to offer support services. Donald Trump, the incoming president of the US, had previously favoured the ban on the short-video app in his first administration. However, his stance has now shifted.
Last month, he urged the Supreme Court to delay the implementation of Biden’s ban so that he could have time to find a “political resolution.”
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