Amazon has made a surprising last-minute bid to purchase TikTok, as the U.S. government deadline for the platform's sale approaches. The bid was confirmed by a Trump administration official on Wednesday (April 2). The offer was submitted in a letter to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
This move comes as TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, faces pressure to sell the platform or face a ban in the United States due to national security concerns. President Donald Trump had previously extended a reprieve for TikTok, but the deadline for a sale is set for Saturday (April 5).
The potential sale of TikTok has attracted interest from several parties. Oracle, which already holds a 12.5% stake in TikTok Global, is among the possible buyers. Other contenders include investment firm Blackstone and a consortium led by billionaire Frank McCourt, which has offered $20 billion for TikTok's U.S. operations.
Concerns about data privacy and national security have fueled the urgency of the sale. U.S. officials worry that ByteDance could share user data with the Chinese government, although TikTok denies these allegations. As the deadline looms, President Trump is meeting with senior officials to discuss the situation, and it remains uncertain if ByteDance will proceed with a sale.