Bytedance founder says Trump’s goal is to ban Tiktok, not secure a sale
The founder of Tiktok parent firm Bytedance has told employees he believes the US is ultimately seeking a total ban on the app, despite allowing negotiations of a sale to Microsoft to continue.
Zhang Limin also said there were misunderstandings on Chinese social media about Tiktok’s situation in the US, but that Bytedance could face more difficulties as anti-Chinese sentiment abroad rises.
The founder said he had “no choice” but to submit to the idea of a sale because of US threats to change local laws which would ban the app from its shores.
However he argued that a sale of Tiktok “was not [the administration’s] purpose — it’s even something they didn’t want to see — the real purpose was to completely ban and even more”.
Zhang and Bytedance were heavily criticised on Chinese social media about its decision to enter into talks with Microsoft about selling the US unit of Tiktok, with state newspapers likening the deal to “theft”.
“I actually understand (the criticism),” Zhang said in a letter to employees, seen by Reuters.
“People have high expectations of a company founded by a Chinese person which is going global but have little information about it. With lots of grievances towards the US government, they tend to lash out at us with harsh criticism.”
Bytedance is said to have received investor valuations for Tiktok at around $50bn, according to people familiar with the matter.
US President Donald Trump said yesterday that he told Microsoft boss Satya Nadella that the US Treasury should receive a cut from the sale of Tiktok, despite there being no precedent for such a process.
“The United States should get a very large percentage of that price, because we’re making it possible,” he said.
“It would come from the sale, which nobody else would be thinking about but me, but that’s the way I think, and I think it’s very fair.”