Some local media reports of the US have claimed that the US President Donald Trump was trying for TikTok to be divested from its Chinese parent firm on national security grounds.

Two of the top-selling newspapers of the US have claimed that Donald Trump wanted to order the sale of TikTok’s US operations by China-based ByteDance citing reason as sharing of data with Chinese intelligence.

On Friday, Trump announced that he will ban TikTok from the United States, after authorities raised concerns that the app might be sharing data with the Chinese intelligence.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said: “As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States.”

Also read: TikTok owner ByteDance ditches US, considers listing China business in Hong Kong

Earlier he had said, “We’re looking at TikTok. We may be banning TikTok. We may be doing some other things. There are a couple of options, but a lot of things are happening.”

Some media reports have also claimed that Microsoft has been in talks to acquire the famous video-sharing app TikTok.

However, no confirmation has been provided by Microsoft or TikTok.

Also read: ByteDance investors value TikTok at $50 billion in takeover bid

Meanwhile, TikTok has refused to comment on the reports being circulated. “We are confident in the long-term success of TikTok. Hundreds of millions of people come to TikTok for entertainment and connection, including our community of creators and artists who are building livelihoods from the platform,” TikTok told AFP.

This week, TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer took to social media to express TikTok’s commitment to transparency. “We are not political, we do not accept political advertising and have no agenda — our only objective is to remain a vibrant, dynamic platform for everyone to enjoy,” he said.

“TikTok has become the latest target, but we are not the enemy.”