Who could buy TikTok to avoid a ban
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A handful of potential buyers have emerged, as the deadline for TikTok to be banned in the U.S. is a few days away.
Why it matters: A sale is an option that ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, could exercise if it wants the app to be a part of the U.S. media landscape.
- Biden could push the ban's deadline by 90 days if he learns that ByteDance is making progress toward a divestiture.
- If the company chooses not to sell, TikTok will be banned as early as Jan. 19 if the Supreme Court upholds a bipartisan law.
Zoom in: YouTuber James "Jimmy" Donaldson, famously known as MrBeast, announced on Wednesday in an Instagram post that he had a meeting with several billionaires and has "an offer ready" for TikTok.
- Donaldson did not share further information about who the billionaires are or what the plan looks like.
- He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Billionaire Frank McCourt in December pulled together participants for a consortium of investors interested in pursuing a "peoples bid" for TikTok, Axios' Sara Fischer reported.
- McCourt believes Project Liberty, an internet advocacy group, "is uniquely positioned to assume stewardship of TikTok" because of the tech and governance protocols it has built to prioritize user privacy and safety.
- The bid has been joined by Kevin O'Leary, one of the hosts of "Shark Tank."
- Project Liberty announced last week that it submitted a proposal to buy TikTok from ByteDance.
Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard, expressed interest to ByteDance co-founder Zhang Yiming about buying TikTok, the Wall Street Journal reported last year.
- Kotick floated the idea to a table of people that included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
- Kotick has not commented publicly on the offer.
By the numbers: TikTok has a stunning 170 million users in the U.S., and just 32% of Americans support a ban, according to a Pew Research Center survey.
The bottom line: All of TikTok's interested buyers may want to purchase the platform, with its price tag estimated in the billions, but ultimately, the Chinese government will effectively hold veto power over any sale.
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