TikTok has categorically denied reports suggesting that it is considering selling the app to Elon Musk. The company’s spokesperson described these claims as “pure fiction.”
This denial comes after Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese officials were discussing a potential sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to the Tesla and SpaceX CEO.
This was said to be done in an attempt to avoid a ban scheduled to take effect on Sunday, January 19, unless the app’s China-based parent company ByteDance sells off TikTok’s US operations.
While Chinese officials would “strongly prefer” that TikTok remains under the control of ByteDance, senior Chinese officials have begun to debate “contingency plans”, Bloomberg had said.
Responding to these reports on Tuesday, a TikTok spokesperson told Al Jazeera: “We cannot be expected to comment on pure fiction.”
During oral arguments brought by TikTok on Friday, January 10, concerning the potential ban on TikTok due to national security concerns, the US Supreme Court appeared to be inclined towards upholding the ban.
A majority of the justices indicated a likelihood of upholding the ban, seeming unconvinced by TikTok’s arguments and rather focusing on the implications of allowing a Chinese-owned app to operate in the US and its potential for data collection and influence over American users.
TikTok argued that the law infringes on First Amendment rights of the US Constitution and unfairly targets the platform, but the court's tone suggested a preference for prioritizing national security over these free speech concerns.
President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to be inaugurated on January 20, pledged to “save” the platform during his presidential campaign last year, a reversal from his attempt to ban the app during his first term in office.
IOL