Microsoft says its bid to buy TikTok has been rejected

Microsoft says its bid to buy popular video-sharing app TikTok has been rejected, removing a leading suitor for Chinese-owned app a week before President Donald Trump promises to follow through with a plan to ban it in U.S. Microsoft said in a Sunday statement that TikTok’s parent company, Bytedance, “let us kw today y would t be selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft.”

Trump administration has threatened to ban TikTok by mid-September and ordered ByteDance to sell its U.S. business, claiming national-security risks due to its Chinese ownership. government worries about user data being funneled to Chinese authorities. TikTok denies it is a national-security risk and is suing to stop administration from threatened ban.

Walmart had planned to partner with Microsoft on deal. It’s t clear if Walmart is still interested. Oracle, ar reported bidder, has declined to comment. TikTok didn’t immediately return requests for comment Sunday.

Microsoft said Sunday it was “confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users while protecting national security interests.” company said it “would have made significant changes to ensure service met highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combating disinformation.”