TECH NEWS – The President of the United States has essentially given an ultimatum: either the Chinese owner sells the platform or say goodbye to the US market!
According to Reuters, US President Donald Trump told those aboard Air Force One a few days ago that the US government is in talks with four different parties interested in buying the popular social platform. Although Trump did not name any of the parties, he called all four good. By the way, let’s not forget that ByteDance, the Chinese-owned company that owns TikTok, has had a pretty rough time lately.
The US is preparing to ban the app over security concerns. Trump initially threatened to use the banhammer during his first term, but ByteDance has since appealed, with the US Supreme Court saying the decision was up to the president, who has since taken a less aggressive stance against the platform. The goal now is not to ban the platform outright, but to ensure that it is not under Chinese influence so that the U.S. can own a potentially lucrative asset.
In late January, Trump talked about someone like Elon Musk or Larry Ellison buying the app, but sharing half of it with the US government. The idea is that by allowing the government to run the app, they would be entitled to a share of the profits. (That’s usually called a TAX, right?) TikTok could be worth up to $50 billion. But who are the potential buyers? According to Reuters, one is Frank McCourt, former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Rumors also mention the controversial former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. But even Microsoft has been mentioned…
It all depends on whether ByteDance decides to sell. If it doesn’t, the Trumps could take strong action against TikTok, which will be left with the option of operating only outside the US. We will find out soon what happens.
Source: PCGamer
