Joe' host Joe Scarborough expressed on Thursday's show that he has "always been horrified" by the Chinese-owned app TikTok and said Elon Musk should not be the person to take over American operations for the social platform.

Elon Musk swooping in to buy TikTok before a US ban is set to bite? It seems like a stretch, but it could also make some sense, Peter Kafka writes.

Could Elon Musk save TikTok in the US? China weighs option to sell the controversial TikTok social media app's US operations ahead of looming ban

After years of rejecting the idea of a sale of TikTok’s US assets to an American buyer in order to avert a ban, China and ByteDance may have found an owner they could live with: Elon Musk.

Chinese officials are reportedly exploring a backup plan for TikTok after the Supreme Court appeared unlikely to save it from a US ban. With TikTok’s legal options nearly exhausted, multiple news outlets are reporting that China is considering an option it previously said it wouldn’t: letting ByteDance sell the app.

TikTok’s time will expire on Jan. 19 if no buyer is found or the Supreme Court rules in the app’s favor. Here’s what to know.

Musk acquired X (then Twitter) in October 2022 after a highly publicized back and forth, in which he gave up on the acquisition midway but ultimately closed the deal, paying $44 billion for the platform. X's user base has been on a decline since the acquisition, and advertising revenues have plummeted.

Elon Musk opposes the TikTok ban in the US, citing it as a violation of freedom of speech, despite potential benefits to his platform, X. Musk highlig

Jeff Bezos-backed Perplexity AI has reportedly submitted a $50 billion bid to merge with TikTok U.S., aiming to create a new entity with ByteDance's investors retaining stakes while boosting Perplexity's video capabilities.

After the company briefly turned off its app for its 170 million US users on Saturday, some flocked to other corners of the internet to react.

TikTok faces U.S. ban on Jan. 19, leaving 170M users scrambling for alternatives amid national security concerns and data privacy debates.