Microsoft announced on Sunday that the Chinese company ByteDance rejected its offer to purchase TikTok's U.S. operations.
In early August, President Trump issued an executive order saying TikTok, a popular video-sharing app, was a national security risk, and ByteDance had until mid-September to sell off its U.S. operations or the app would be banned. A person with knowledge of the matter told The Associated Press ByteDance chose Oracle, the only other publicly known bidder, to buy the app. Oracle has close ties to Trump, with Larry Ellison, its co-founder and chairman, a supporter who has hosted a fundraiser for the president.
In a statement, Microsoft said it was "confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok's users, while protecting national security interests." Microsoft had previously said it would have to take over TikTok's algorithms and computer source code in order to protect the privacy of U.S. users and keep the Chinese government from using the app to spread disinformation. In response, the Chinese government issued new regulations so TikTok would have to get permission from Beijing before transferring its technology to a foreign buyer.
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