By: TPA Staff Reporter | editor@thepointafricanews.com

President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that a buyer has been secured for the popular social media platform TikTok, a group of “very wealthy people” whose identities he plans to reveal within the next two weeks. The revelation came during an interview broadcast on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.”

The announcement is a significant development for TikTok, which has faced the threat of a ban in the United States due to national security concerns over its ties to its China-based parent company, ByteDance. A federal law passed last year had mandated a divestment of TikTok’s U.S. operations or a ban, with initial deadlines having passed.

President Trump, who has expressed fondness for the app and credited it with boosting his popularity among younger voters during his 2024 election campaign, has repeatedly extended the deadline for a sale. The most recent extension, signed just 10 days ago on June 19, pushed the deadline to September 17, marking the third such reprieve granted by his administration since he took office in January 2025.

During the interview, Trump also indicated that any deal would likely require approval from Beijing. “I think I’ll need probably China’s approval, and I think President Xi [Jinping] will probably do it,” he stated. TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, has previously confirmed ongoing discussions with the U.S. government regarding a potential divestment but has maintained that any agreement would be subject to Chinese law.

The identity of the potential buyers remains a mystery, though past speculation has included various tech giants and private equity groups. The impending announcement is expected to bring some clarity to the future of the app, which boasts over 170 million users in the United States.