Walmart confirms possible joint deal with Microsoft to buy TikTok

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The clock is ticking for Microsoft and Walmart to reach a deal with ByteDance as the Trump administration ramps up retaliatory sanctions and executive orders aiming to ban Chinese-based apps in the U.S., including WeChat.

Pressure from the White House has led to TikTok suing the government in federal court, claiming the White House denied TikTok due process. Nothing has resulted from TikTok’s lawsuit as of yet.

TikTok CEO, Kevin Mayer, recently stepped down from the company after only being at the company for three months.

In a letter to staff, Mayer said “I understand that the role that I signed up for—including running TikTok globally—will look very different as a result of the U.S. administration’s action to push for a selloff of the U.S. business… I’ve always been globally focused in my work, and leading a global team that includes TikTok U.S. was a big draw for me.”

On Sept. 15, Trump’s TikTok transaction ban is set to kick in which will effectively kill TikTok’s access to the American market.