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Amazon has submitted a last-minute bid to acquire TikTok as the social media platform nears its April deadline to divest from its Chinese-based owner ByteDance or face a ban in the United States.
According to a report by The New York Times, Amazon’s bid is not being taken seriously by various parties. The offer was made in a letter addressed to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
President Trump has vowed to prevent TikTok from being banned nationwide, despite the Supreme Court unanimously upholding enforcement of the ban. The president is scheduled to meet with top White House officials on Wednesday to discuss the app’s future. A potential deal has been discussed that would involve bringing in several US investors, including tech company Oracle and private equity firm Blackstone.
The ban on TikTok has faced bipartisan support from lawmakers in Washington who argue that the social media app raises national security concerns due to its Chinese ownership. Congress passed a law last year that would force a sale to go into effect in January, but President Trump delayed the ban to April 5 following his inauguration.
TikTok has continued to state that it is not for sale in part because the Chinese government would block a deal from being implemented. However, Trump has repeatedly said he would "like to see TikTok remain alive" in the US. The president even suggested that he would be willing to reduce tariffs on China to get a deal done.
“With respect to TikTok, and China is going to have to play a role in that, possibly in the form of an approval, maybe, and I think they’ll do that,” Trump told reporters last week. “Maybe I’ll give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done."
English (US) ·