Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok

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US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok and that he would like to see a bidding war over the app. Microsoft declined to comment. TikTok and ByteDance did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for a comment outside regular business hours.

TikTok, which has about 170 million American users, was briefly taken offline just before a law requiring its Chinese owner ByteDance to either sell it on national security grounds or face a ban took effect on January 19.

Trump, after taking office on January 20, signed an executive order seeking to delay by 75 days the enforcement of the law. Trump said last week that he was in talks with multiple people over buying TikTok and would likely have a decision on the popular app's future in 30 days.