TikTok denies reports of sale to Elon Musk: ‘Pure fiction’

(The Hill) — TikTok has denied a report that Chinese officials are considering a sale of the company’s U.S. operations to tech billionaire and President-elect Donald Trump ally Elon Musk ahead of a potential ban Sunday, calling the report “pure fiction.” 

”We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction,” TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes said in a statement. 

The popular video-sharing platform is bracing for a new law, set to take effect on Jan. 19, that requires its China-based parent company ByteDance to divest from the app or face a ban on U.S. app stores and networks.  

Ahead of Sunday’s deadline, Bloomberg reported that the Chinese government is considering a scenario in which Musk’s social platform X would take control of TikTok’s U.S. operations and run the companies together. 

Musk, who has previously proclaimed himself a “free speech absolutist,” said in April that he did not think the app should be banned, arguing it would be “contrary to freedom of speech and expression.” 

The tech mogul is also a close ally of President-elect Trump, who vowed to “save TikTok” during his campaign.  

After the Supreme Court took up TikTok’s challenge to the law last month, Trump filed a friend-of-the-court brief asking the justices to delay the law so he can negotiate a deal once in office. 

The president-elect argued that such a deal would obviate the need for the Supreme Court to weigh in on the First Amendment implications of the divest-or-ban law, which TikTok contends is unconstitutional. 

The justices, which heard oral arguments on Friday, seemed inclined to side with the Biden administration. The government has raised alarm about TikTok’s ties to China and the possibility the Chinese government can access U.S. user data or covertly manipulate the algorithm.