WASHINGTON – In a last-minute move, Amazon has submitted an offer to acquire TikTok, according to a source within the Trump administration. This development arrives just before a potential U.S. ban on the popular video-sharing app is scheduled to take effect on Saturday.
The anonymous official disclosed that Amazon's proposal was formally presented in a letter addressed to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The initial report of the bid originated from The New York Times.
President Donald Trump granted TikTok a temporary reprieve on Inauguration Day, effectively overriding a previously upheld Supreme Court ruling that deemed the ban essential for national security.
As per existing legislation, TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, based in China, is mandated to either sell the platform to a U.S.-approved entity or cease operations within the United States. President Trump has hinted at the possibility of prolonging the suspension of the ban, while also expressing his expectation that a definitive agreement will be reached by Saturday.
Amazon has not released an official statement.
News of Amazon's bid emerged concurrently with President Trump's scheduled meeting with high-ranking officials to deliberate the impending deadline for the sale of TikTok.
Security agencies, including the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission, have voiced concerns that ByteDance could potentially share user information, such as browsing history, location data, and biometric identifiers, with the Chinese government. TikTok denies these allegations, asserting it has never shared data and would refuse if requested. To date, the U.S. government has not provided corroborating evidence.
President Trump actively uses TikTok and has stated the platform is helping him reach younger demographics.
During his initial term, President Trump expressed reservations about TikTok, leading to executive orders that prohibited transactions with ByteDance and WeChat's parent company.