Social media giant Twitter is reportedly in preliminary talks with Chinese-owned TikTok about combining the companies.
Sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday that it’s currently unclear if Twitter will pursue a deal, but it would involve TikTok’s U.S. operations if so.
A Twitter spokesperson declined to comment when reached by the Washington Examiner.
Last week, President Trump signed an executive order that prevents U.S. companies and individuals from doing business with TikTok, claiming its Chinese ownership jeopardizes and threatens the national security and economy of the United States.
“TikTok automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users, including Internet and other network activity information such as location data and browsing and search histories. This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information — potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage,” Trump wrote in the executive order.
“TikTok also reportedly censors content that the Chinese Communist Party deems politically sensitive, such as content concerning protests in Hong Kong and China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. This mobile application may also be used for disinformation campaigns that benefit the Chinese Communist Party, such as when TikTok videos spread debunked conspiracy theories about the origins of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus,” the order continued.
Earlier, Trump said that TikTok operations in the U.S. would have to “close down” by mid-September unless a U.S. company works out an ownership deal. Such a deal would require the approval of the U.S. government.
Microsoft, a much larger company than Twitter, has also been negotiating with TikTok for weeks on a potential deal.
“Microsoft fully appreciates the importance of addressing the President’s concerns. It is committed to acquiring TikTok subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury,” the company said in a statement.
