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TikTok China is considering allowing the social media company’s US operations to sell “pure fiction” to Elon Musk, a report said.
The company’s comments came in response to a Bloomberg report that Chinese officials are considering a possible sale of its American business to the world’s richest man if the US Supreme Court upholds the ban on the app.
Supreme Court justices must rule on a law that sets a January 19 deadline for TikTok to sell its US operations or face a ban in the country.
TikTok has repeatedly said it will not sell its US operation.
“We cannot be expected to comment on pure fiction,” a TikTok spokesperson told BBC News.
Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that one possible scenario being considered by Chinese officials would see Musk’s X social media platform take control of TikTok’s US operations.
It’s a musk close ally Donald Trump, who will return to the White House on January 20, the president-elect of the United States.
In the last month, Trump appealed to the Supreme Court delaying his decision until he takes office, so that a “political solution” can be sought.
His lawyer submitted a legal brief to the court that Trump “opposes a ban on TikTok” and “seeks the ability to resolve matters through political means when he takes office.”
This comes a week after Trump met TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
On Monday, two Democratic lawmakers, Senator Edward Markey and Representative Ro Khanna, also asked Congress and President Joe Biden to extend the January 19 deadline.
Last week at the Supreme Court session, the judges appeared desire to protect legislation and stick to the deadline.
During the nearly three-hour debate, the nine justices returned again and again to the national security concerns that created the law.
The Biden administration has argued that without the sale, TikTok could be used by China as a tool for espionage and political manipulation.
The company has repeatedly denied any influence from the Chinese Communist Party and said the ban in the US violates users’ First Amendment free speech rights.
