Musk, Mrini, Larry Ellison – who can buy TikTok?
Jimmy Donaldson – aka mrbeast – Did he tell his tens of millions of TikTok followers about his bid to buy the platform?
“I get to be you guys’ new CEO! I’m super excited!” Donaldson said from a private jet. He then proceeded to promise $10,000 to five random new followers.
The internet creator’s post has been viewed more than 73 million times since Monday. Donaldson said he could not share details about his bid, but promised: “Just know, it’s going to be crazy.”
Donaldson is one of several suitors who have expressed interest in buying TikTok, the wildly popular social media platform that has become the subject of an escalating political drama in the United States.
Last year, then-President Joe Biden signed a law that gave TikTok’s China-based parent company until January 19 to sell the platform or face a ban in the United States.
The legislation addressed concerns about TikTok’s links to the Chinese government and concerns about the app being a national security risk.
President Donald Trump has floated the possibility of a joint venture.
“I would like to have a 50% ownership situation in the United States,” he said in a Truth Social post on Sunday. “By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to (stay on top).”
Trump has since signed an executive order that allows the app to remain operational for another 75 days.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg informed That China was considering a TikTok sale Elon MuskThe world’s richest man and a close ally of President Trump, who already owns the social media platform X.
musk wrote This week on X that while he has long been against a TikTok ban, “The current situation where TikTok is allowed to work in the US, but Need”.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Trump was asked by a reporter if he would be open to Musk buying the platform.
“I would if he wanted to buy it, yes,” the President responded.
“I want to buy it, too,” Larry said, referring to Oracle’s chairman. , larry ellisonA longtime Trump supporter who was on stage with him for a separate announcement.
Oracle is one of the main server providers for TikTok, management Multiple data centers where the platform’s billions of videos are stored.
Last year, Oracle warned that a TikTok ban could harm its business. The cloud computing giant was also a leading contender to buy the social media platform in 2020 when Trump was trying to ban it.
billionaire investor Frank McCourt TikTok has also expressed interest, and has been doing media interviews about the possibility for several months.
McCourt has said that he wants the TikTok project to continue with the technology overseen by the Liberty Institute, which he founded. He has been critical of the data collection practices of social media companies.
Project Liberty is bidding for TikTok without its proprietary algorithm. mccourt told CNBC said this week that Project Liberty is “not interested in the algorithm or Chinese technology”, even as they acknowledged that the platform is “less valuable” without it.
Ultimately, President Trump is likely to play a major role in selecting a US buyer for TikTok.
“It’s going to be a winner takeaway,” said Anupam Chander, a law professor at Georgetown University who is likely to be politically sympathetic to President Donald Trump.
Professor Chander said the 50-50 joint ownership model is not in keeping with the requirements of the law, which could prompt Trump to pressure Congress to modify the law.
For now, the future of the platform is limited.
Professor Chander said the Biden administration made an “unforced error” by allowing the law to limit who owns TikTok.
“It was a terrible idea to put the future of a massive information platform in this political maelstrom,” Professor Chander said.
