TikTok Rejects Reports Of US Operations Sale To Musk As "Pure Fiction"

TikTok has dismissed a report that China is considering the possibility of the sale of the US operations of the social media company to Elon Musk. ByteDance-owned platform made the response to a Bloomberg report that Chinese officials are weighing an option that could see its business in the US being sold to the billionaire if the US Supreme Court upholds a ban on the app.

The US top court is due to rule on a law that set a January 19 deadline for TikTok to either sell its country's operations or face a ban in the country. "We can't be expected to comment on pure fiction," a TikTok spokesperson told BBC News while responding to the reports. Meanwhile, the US administration claims the China-based TikTok poses a national security threat. The Joe Biden-led US government said during a Supreme Court hearing last week that without a sale, TikTok could be used by China as a tool for spying and political manipulation.