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The Chinese government is considering a plan Musk Bloomberg News acquires TikTok’s U.S. operations to prevent the app from being effectively banned report on Monday.
Citing anonymous sources, the report said the contingency plan is one of several options China is exploring as the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to uphold a ruling requiring China’s ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations by January 19. law.
After this period, third-party Internet service providers will be penalized for supporting TikTok’s operations in the country.
Bloomberg said that under the plan, Musk will oversee the U.S. operations of X and TikTok, which he currently owns. However, the report said that Chinese government officials have not yet decided whether to proceed, noting that the plan is still in its preliminary stages.
According to the report, it is unclear whether ByteDance is aware of the Chinese government’s plans and the participation of TikTok and Musk in the discussions. Top Chinese officials are discussing contingency plans involving TikTok’s future in the United States, part of broader discussions about working with the president-elect Donald Trumpthe report added.
A TikTok spokesperson said in an email to CNBC that “we cannot be expected to comment on content that is purely fictional.” X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last week, the Supreme Court held oral arguments on a law that could ban TikTok. President Joe Biden Signed in April. TikTok’s legal team argued that the law violated the free speech rights of millions of users in the United States, while the U.S. government said the bit-hopping posed a national security risk to TikTok’s ownership.
With the Supreme Court seemingly siding with the administration, TikTok may turn to Trump when his second term begins on January 20. On this issue, the attitude is reversed. At the end of last month, he urge The Supreme Court stepped in and forced a delay on Biden’s ban to give him time to find a “political solution.”
Trump’s rhetoric on TikTok begins to shift Met in February Partnering with billionaire Jeff Yass, a Republican megadonor and major investor in ByteDance who also has a stake in ByteDance’s owner truth societyTrump’s social media company.
watch: SCOTUS hears TikTok ban case
