A Trump administration official confirmed Wednesday that Amazon submitted its offer in a letter addressed to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not disclose the bid’s specifics. The New York Times first reported the development.

The urgency stems from a national security law upheld by the Supreme Court, which requires TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the platform to an approved U.S. buyer or face an operational shutdown in the country. President Donald Trump, who has millions of TikTok followers, temporarily paused the ban on Inauguration Day but has signaled that he expects a resolution by Saturday. While he has the power to delay the ban further, he has also indicated that he prefers a deal to be finalized quickly.

Amazon has declined to comment on the bid, and TikTok has not responded to requests for a statement.

Amazon’s bid isn’t the only one on the table. Several major players have expressed interest in acquiring TikTok’s U.S. operations, including:

• Oracle: The software giant already holds a 12.5% stake in TikTok Global as part of a 2020 agreement when it became the app’s cloud technology provider.
• Blackstone: The investment firm has also been exploring a potential bid.
• Perplexity AI: The artificial intelligence startup proposed a merger with TikTok’s U.S. operations in January, emphasizing its ability to revamp the platform’s algorithm without creating a monopoly.
• Frank McCourt’s Consortium: The billionaire businessman, along with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian as a strategic adviser, reportedly offered ByteDance $20 billion in cash for TikTok’s U.S. platform.
• Employer.com Founder Jesse Tinsley: Tinsley’s consortium is said to have put forth an offer exceeding $30 billion.
• Wyoming Businessman Reid Rasner: Rasner claims to have made the highest bid so far—approximately $47.5 billion.

The controversy surrounding TikTok isn’t just about business; it’s a matter of national security, according to U.S. officials. Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have expressed concerns that ByteDance could potentially share user data—including browsing history, location tracking, and biometric identifiers—with the Chinese government.

TikTok has repeatedly denied these allegations, stating it has never shared data with Beijing and wouldn’t comply with such requests. However, U.S. officials argue that China’s national security laws could compel ByteDance to hand over user information if demanded by authorities. Despite the warnings, no concrete evidence has been publicly presented to confirm these fears.

Trump’s stance on TikTok has fluctuated over time. During his first term, he signed executive orders banning transactions with ByteDance and WeChat, citing security risks. However, since then, his view of TikTok has softened, particularly as he’s leveraged the platform’s vast reach to engage younger voters. He has acknowledged TikTok’s influence in shaping public opinion and political discourse.

With the Saturday deadline fast approaching, the next few days will be crucial in determining TikTok’s fate in the United States. Whether Amazon’s bid gains traction or another company emerges as the frontrunner remains to be seen. One thing is certain: the battle over TikTok is far from over.

Source: AP News – Amazon’s last-minute bid for TikTok comes as a US ban on the platform is set to take effect Saturday

The post Amazon Makes Surprise Bid for TikTok as US Ban Looms appeared first on Journos News - Breaking News, World News, Top Stories, Todays Headlines and Flash Reports.

Elon Musk has made another bold move in the tech industry, selling his social media platform, X, to his artificial intelligence company, xAI, in an all-stock deal valued at $33 billion. The billionaire entrepreneur announced the transaction on Friday, describing it as a strategic step to integrate AI-driven advancements with X’s extensive user base.

Both X and xAI are privately held companies, meaning they are not obligated to disclose their financial details publicly. However, Musk emphasized the potential benefits of the deal, stating that it will “unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach.”

The deal values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion. Musk originally acquired the platform—then known as Twitter—for $44 billion in 2022. Since then, he has significantly reshaped the company, cutting staff, altering content moderation policies, and rebranding it as X.

Musk launched xAI in 2023, focusing on artificial intelligence development. With this latest merger, he aims to integrate AI more deeply into X, leveraging the platform’s vast data and user interactions to enhance AI capabilities.

“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution, and talent,” Musk posted on X. “This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach. The combined company will deliver smarter, more meaningful experiences to billions of people while staying true to our core mission of seeking truth and advancing knowledge.”

It remains unclear how this deal will impact everyday X users. xAI already utilizes data from X posts to train its AI models, and premium X subscribers have access to its AI chatbot, Grok. Whether this merger will introduce new AI-driven features or alter user experiences significantly is yet to be seen.

Musk’s latest move reinforces his long-term vision of integrating artificial intelligence into digital communication platforms, potentially reshaping the future of online interactions.

Source: AP News – Elon Musk sells X to his own xAI for $33 billion in all-stock deal

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