WH Staffers Struggle To Justify Trump's Demand For 'Key Money' In TikTok Deal

The Trump administration was at a loss on Tuesday over the president's suggestion to shake down Microsoft in its proposed purchase of Chinese app TikTok.

According to Gizmodo, the Trump administration has threatened to ban TikTok in the US, possibly by putting it on a Commerce Department blacklist.

The threat is based on largely theoretical concerns that Beijing-based owner ByteDance could use it to spy on tens of millions of users.