Twitter should be interested in TikTok

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TikTok logo between USA and China flags: "We are shocked"

According to a report, the US Internet service Twitter is interested in a merger with the Chinese video platform TikTok. There have been initial talks between the two companies, reports the Wall Street Journal. Twitter and Tiktok did not want to confirm this upon request.

TikTok has come under pressure in the US. The video app is accused by critics of passing on user data to the Chinese government. US President Donald Trump had signed a decree that amounts to a ban on TikTok in a month and a half if the owner group Bytedance has not sold the platform by then. Trump had previously urged the app to be sold to an American company.

The decree prohibits all business with Tiktok and Bytedance after a period of 45 days. Trump accuses Bytedance of spying for China's government through the platform. TikTok criticized Trump's approach and announced legal action. "We are shocked by the latest order that was issued without due process," TikTok said. "For nearly a year now, we have endeavored to work in good faith with the US government to find a constructive solution to the concerns raised."

The US software company Microsoft is currently negotiating a purchase with Bytedance. The video app is particularly popular with young users. Bytedance denies sharing user data with the Chinese government.

rwi / afp