This archive report was first published on 7 August 2020.
US President Donald Trump's decision-making process on TikTok has been marked by significant shifts in his stance, with his administration considering a potential acquisition of the Chinese-owned service by Microsoft.
As of last week, Microsoft had announced plans to pursue negotiations for a purchase of TikTok's service in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with a deadline of September 15. However, Trump's position on the matter has been fluid, with some advisers urging him to allow Microsoft or another suitor to buy the service, while others pushed for more sweeping action.
On Friday evening, Trump told reporters that he did not want TikTok to be acquired by an American company and that he would use his presidential authority to bar TikTok from operating in the United States. However, this position did not last long, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other officials scrambling to find people who would intervene with the president.
By Sunday, Trump had come around to the idea of allowing Microsoft to acquire TikTok, but his administration's stance on the matter remains uncertain. The threat of an outright ban on transactions is a serious blow for ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, and its CEO Zhang Yiming, who has been working to connect the world through his various consumer apps.
