Washington, August 3: US President Donald Trump on Monday issued an ultimatum to TikTok, directing the Chinese video-sharing application to sell its business stakes in the United States by "around September 15". Failing to comply with the deadline, TikTok will have to completely shut its operations in the country.

"TikTok will be 'out of business' in the US if not sold by around September 15," Trump was reported as saying by news agency AFP. The announcement by Trump signals a shift in the White House strategy against the Chinese app, which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described as a data harvesting tool of the China's Communist Party. Microsoft to Continue Discussions to Explore Purchase of TikTok From ByteDance.

Trump had, on Friday, announced that he would be taking definite action against TikTok for allegedly intruding into the privacy of Americans. This was preceded by Pompeo's repeated praise for ally India which had, in June this year, banned TikTok along with 58 other apps made in China.

Update by AFP

While the US President was on Saturday expected to sign an executive order banning TikTok and blocking its access to the internet in America, the White House maintained a silence over the weekend.

The period saw the Microsoft, the tech giant based in the US, entering into negotiations with TikTok to takeover control of its operations in America, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The deal, as per a blog post uploaded by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, is targeted to be finalised by September 15.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 03, 2020 11:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).