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China is considering a potential sale of TikTok to US Musk, Bloomberg News Reuters reports


(Reuters) – Chinese officials are in preliminary talks about a potential sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to billionaire Elon Musk if the short video app can’t avoid an impending ban, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.

Officials in Beijing prefer TikTok to remain under the control of parent company Bytedance, the report said, citing sources.

TikTok’s US operations could be sold through a competitive process or through a government deal, the report said, suggesting the app’s future is no longer solely in ByteDance’s control.

The Chinese government has a “golden stake” in ByteDance, which several members of Congress have said gives the government power over Tiktok.

In one scenario, Musk’s social media platform X would take control of TikTok US and jointly run the business, the report said. Officials have yet to reach a consensus on how to proceed, according to Bloomberg News.

“We cannot be expected to comment on pure fiction,” a TikTok spokesperson said in response to the report.

It remains unclear how aware ByteDance is of Musk and TikTok’s discussions or involvement, and there is no information on whether ByteDance, TikTok and Musk have been in talks about a possible deal.

TikTok previously said the government’s stake “has no impact on ByteDance’s global operations outside of China, including TikTok.”

Elon Musk, X, China’s Cyberspace and the Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last week, the Supreme Court appeared inclined to uphold legislation that would have forced the sale or ban of TikTok in the US by January 19, amid national security concerns over China.





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