Trump announced that Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok.

He stated this to reporters on Monday, as reported by Ukrinform, referencing Reuters.

Trump noted that he would like to see competition among potential buyers of the platform.

It is emphasized that Microsoft declined to comment on the matter. TikTok and ByteDance did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

It is mentioned that this is the second time Microsoft is considering the possibility of acquiring TikTok.

The startup Perplexity AI made a merger proposal with TikTok on Sunday, with the U.S. government set to receive up to half of the shares in the new company, a source told Reuters.

Last week, Trump stated that he is in talks with several parties regarding the purchase of TikTok and is likely to make a decision about the app's future within the next 30 days.

As reported by Ukrinform, the TikTok app ceased operations in the United States late on January 18, just before a nationwide ban on the platform took effect.

In April of last year, then-President Joe Biden signed a law that would ban TikTok if the Chinese company ByteDance did not sell its stake. There are concerns in the U.S. that Beijing could use the app to monitor American users.

On January 19, access to TikTok in the U.S. was restored, and Trump announced that he was returning the popular video platform to American users. Later, Trump signed an order delaying the enforcement of the ban on the popular short video app TikTok for 75 days.

Subsequently, General Atlantic CEO Bill Ford (General Atlantic is the main investor in ByteDance) stated that ByteDance will strike a deal with U.S. authorities to ensure that the app remains available in the country. Trump indicated that he "would like to see the United States hold 50% in a joint venture" with TikTok.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his openness to the idea of billionaire Elon Musk acquiring the TikTok app during a speech at the White House.

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