US will ban TikTok by September 15 if no American company buys it, says President Donald Trump

New Delhi: US President Donald Trump has set September 15 as the deadline for buying the operations of video-sharing platform TikTok in the US, after which the app will be banned in the country.

Trump’s remarks came during a meeting with US tech workers and signing of an executive order on hiring American.

“I don’t mind if — whether it’s Microsoft or somebody else — a big company, a secure company, very — a very American company buy it.  It’s probably easier to buy the whole thing than to buy 30 percent of it,” Trump said.

“…I think we’re going to have — maybe a deal is going to be made.  It’s a great asset.  It’s a great asset.  But it’s not a great asset in the United States unless they have the approval of the United States.  So it’ll close down on September 15th, unless Microsoft or somebody else is able to buy it and work out a deal — an appropriate deal.  So the Treasury of the — really, the Treasury, I guess you would say, of the United States gets a lot of money.  A lot of money. Okay?,” Trump added.

Trump also said very substantial portion of that price is going to have to come into the US Treasury out of a TikTok deal.

"I did say that if you buy it, whatever the price is, that goes to whoever owns it.  Because I guess it’s China, essentially, but more than anything else.  I said a very substantial portion of that price is going to have to come into the Treasury of the United States because we’re making it possible for this deal to happen.  Right now, they don’t have any rights, unless we give it to them.  So if we’re going to give them the rights, then it has to come into — it has to come into this country," Trump said.

Meanwhile, Microsoft on August 2 officially confirmed that it is in talks to acquire the operations of video-sharing platform TikTok in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand markets following a conversation between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Donald Trump.

The official confirmation came after reports surfaced that Microsoft has halted its bid to buy the US operations of China-based TikTok after President Donald Trump vowed to ban the short-video making app that has over 80 million monthly users in the country.

US President Donald Trump had in the end of July said that he would ban the popular Chinese-owned video app TikTok from operating in the country through an executive order.

TikTok had by July end unveiled a plan to offer creators $2 billion globally in the next three years. TikTok has denied any Chinese control over its operations.

The move to ban TikTok comes at a time of heightened tensions between the Trump administration and the Chinese government over a number of issues, including trade disputes and Beijing's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.