U.S. incoming president Donald Trump on Sunday indicated that he wants 50% U.S. ownership of the Chinese-owned short-form video app TikTok.
Trump, on the eve of his swearing-in, told a rally in Washington, D.C., that he would allow the app to continue operating in the U.S., saying, “but let the United States of America own 50 percent of TikTok.”
“TikTok is worth nothing, zero, without approval to operate.
“If you do approve, they’re worth like a trillion dollars; they’re worth some crazy number.
“I’m approving on behalf of the United States, so they’ll have a partner—the United States—and they’ll have a lot of bidders. The United States will do what we call a joint venture,” Trump added.
DAILY POST recalls that the popular app blocked access for U.S.-based users for about 12 hours on Sunday.
This was due to a new U.S. law mandating that TikTok either be sold by its current Chinese owners, ByteDance, or else be banned in the country. The law was set to come into force.
The app came back online after Trump, who is set to take office on Monday, said he would issue an executive order reinstating the platform in the U.S.