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TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake after Trump threatens to ban app

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China’s ByteDance has agreed to divest the U.S. operations of TikTok completely in a bid to save a deal with the White House, after President Donald Trump said on Friday he had decided to ban…
By Echo Wang and Alexandra Alper NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) – China’s ByteDance hasagreed to divest the U. S. operations of TikTok completely in abid to save a deal with the White House, after President DonaldTrump said on Friday he had decided to ban the popularshort-video app, two people familiar with the matter said onSaturday. U. S. officials have said TikTok under its Chinese parentposes a national risk because of the personal data it handles. ByteDance’s concession will test whether Trump’s threat to banTikTok is a negotiating tactic or whether he is intent oncracking down on a social media app that has up to 80 milliondaily active users in the United States. Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One late on Fridaythat he would issue an order for TikTok to be banned in theUnited States as early as Saturday. “Not the deal that you havebeen hearing about, that they are going to buy and sell… Weare not an M&A (mergers and acquisitions) country,” Trump said. ByteDance was previously seeking to keep a minority stake inthe U. S. business of TikTok, which the White House had rejected. Under the new proposed deal, ByteDance would exit completely andMicrosoft Corp would take over TikTok in the UnitedStates, the sources said. Some ByteDance investors that are based in the United Statesmay be given the opportunity to take minority stakes in thebusiness, the sources added.

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