This archive report was first published on 4 August 2020.
US President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for Microsoft to acquire TikTok, allowing the tech giant to explore the purchase of the popular social media app. The 45-day extension was announced on August 3, 2020, after months of deliberations by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
According to a person familiar with the matter, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States had recommended that TikTok sell its assets to an American company to curtail China's potential influence in the United States. Microsoft had stepped forward as a potential buyer, but several China hawks in the Trump administration, including White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, argued against the sale.
Mr. Navarro had suggested that Microsoft should be required to divest any business it had in China if it bought TikTok. In an interview with CNN, he accused Microsoft of enabling Chinese censorship and surveillance through products like Skype and its search engine, Bing. 'This is not a white-hat company,' he said.
However, after a series of calls, including from Senator Lindsey Graham and Satya Nadella, the chief executive of Microsoft, Mr. Trump appeared to change his mind. Several of Mr. Trump's aides had warned that a ban could prompt an intense legal battle, as well as hurt the president's popularity with younger Americans. TikTok has said 100 million Americans use it.
