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The Chinese government is considering a plan that would do just that Elon Musk TikTok has taken over TikTok's US operations to effectively prevent the app from being banned, Bloomberg News reported I mentioned on monday.
The emergency plan is one of several options China is exploring as the US Supreme Court determines whether to uphold a law calling for China-based ByteDance to divest its US TikTok business by January 19, the report said, citing anonymous sources.
After this deadline, third-party ISPs will be penalized for supporting TikTok's operations in the country.
Under the plan, Musk will oversee both X, which he currently owns, and TikTok's U.S. business, Bloomberg said. However, the report said that Chinese government officials have not yet decided whether to go ahead, noting that the plan is still preliminary.
The report said it was unclear whether ByteDance was aware of the Chinese government's plans and the involvement of TikTok and Musk in the discussions. Senior Chinese officials are discussing contingency plans regarding TikTok's future in the United States as part of larger discussions about working with the president-elect Donald TrumpThe report added.
“We are not expected to comment on pure fiction,” a TikTok spokesperson said in an email to CNBC. X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last week, the Supreme Court held oral arguments on the law potentially banning TikTok, which President Joe Biden It occurred in April. TikTok's legal team argued that the law violates the free speech rights of millions of users in the United States while the US government said that ByteDance's ownership of TikTok poses a national security risk.
With the Supreme Court appearing to side with the government, TikTok could turn to Trump when his second term begins on January 20. Trump, who favored banning TikTok during his first administration, has since backed down on the issue. Late last month, he said urge The Supreme Court to intervene and forcefully delay the implementation of Biden's ban to give him time to find a “political solution.”
Trump's rhetoric on TikTok began to shift afterward Met in February With billionaire Jeff Yass, a major Republican donor and major investor in ByteDance who also has a stake in ByteDance's owner. Social truthTrump's social media company.
He watches: SCOTUS hears TikTok ban case
