As recently as last week, the US president threatened to ban Tiktok for fear that the app could be used by China to spy on the US, but stated on Monday night that he had talked to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and that it might be better if Microsoft bought the whole of Tiktok, not just its American operations.

Trump also said that it did not really matter so much which company buys, as long as it is "a big company, a safe company, a very American company."

Has until September 15 on

The network giant Microsoft stated last week that it wanted to buy Tiktok's American operations, which corresponds to about 30 percent of the company. Trump was initially opposed to such a deal, but has now changed his mind. According to information to Reuters, Trump has given Microsoft until September 15 to negotiate an agreement with Tiktok's owner company Bytedance. If not, Tiktok is banned.

Microsoft confirms that it has spoken with Trump and that the company is "ready to continue discussions about exploring a purchase of Tiktok in the United States." According to Reuters, a purchase would also include operations in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Tiktok is one of the world's most popular apps and is widely used by an estimated one billion people, including many children and young people in Sweden.

Both Republicans and Democrats were relieved

The United States is one of the larger markets, with about 100 million users, and many of Trump's party comrades in the Republican Party have worried that many young voters would turn their backs on the party in this fall's presidential election if Trump made his threat a reality.

But even within the Democratic Party, a sigh of relief is drawn over the fact that Trump has now given the go-ahead for a purchase.

- It's about integrity. "With Tiktok in China, it is subject to the laws of the Chinese Communist Party, which can request that they hand over data to the Chinese government," Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said on Twitter.