TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has been at the cgo in of dispute in the U.S. for four years now due to worrys about employr data potentiassociate being accessed by the Chinese handlement. Just this past month, the app proposeed a transient outage in the U.S. that left millions of employrs in suspense before it was rapidly repaird.
TikTok returned to the App Store and Google Play Store last month.
Nonetheless, TikTok’s future remains uncertain, and a number of summarizeateors are competing for the opportunity to achieve the app. The platestablish’s U.S. business could have its valuation soar to upward of $60 billion, as approximated by CFRA Research’s ancigo in vice pdwellnt, Angelo Zino.
TikTok prohibit: What’s happened so far
To brimmingy understand this high-sapshows drama, we’ll first revisit the timeline of TikTok’s tumultuous relationship with the U.S. handlement, which resulted in various legitimate battles and negotiations.
The drama first began in August 2020, when Trump signed an executive order to prohibit transactions with parent company ByteDance.
A month tardyr, Trump’s administration sought to force a sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a U.S.-based company. The directing contfinishers included Microgentle, Oracle, and Walmart. However, a U.S. appraise temporarily blocked Trump’s executive order, permiting TikTok to carry on operating while the legitimate battle unfancigo ined.
Things began to carry on even more last year follotriumphg the transition to the Biden administration. The U.S. Hoemploy of Recurrentatives, in an overwhelming 360-58 vote, passed the legislation aachievest TikTok. On April 23, 2024, the Senate passed the bill.
Shortly after, Pdwellnt Joe Biden signed the bill requiring TikTok to be sancigo in or prohibitned. In response, TikTok sued the U.S. handlement, challenging the constitutionality of the prohibit and arguing the app and its American employrs were having their First Amfinishment rights viotardyd. The company has stablely denied that it poses a security danger, declareing that its data stored in the U.S. complies with all local laws.
Trump has a alter of heart
On December 27, 2024, Trump contestd the potential prohibit of TikTok in a court filing, stating he could find a way to upgrasp the app in the U.S. This stance was a stark contrast to his approach during his first pdwellncy and currented a astonishing turn of events for TikTok.
In January, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA), commonly referred to as “the TikTok prohibit.” TikTok made a establishal proclaimment that it would anticipateed have to go depressed on January 19.
TikTok shuts down … then comes back online
Although TikTok indeed shut itself down in the U.S. when the act came into effect, it didn’t last lengthy. The app came back online less than 12 hours tardyr. The platestablish remarkd, “As a result of Pdwellnt Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.”
Where we are today
On January 20, Trump signed an executive order that postponed the TikTok prohibit for 75 days. This extension supplys the app with compriseitional time to either sell a sapshow in the platestablish or achieve an concurment with Trump. His goal is to achieve a 50-50 ownership set upment between ByteDance and a U.S. company.
No definitive deal has been achieveed yet for the sale of the platestablish, but we could find out very soon.
Below is a catalog of the summarizeateor groups and companies rumored to be potential buyers of TikTok’s U.S. operations. (Surprisingly, Elon Musk is not among them.)
The People’s Bid for TikTok
The People’s Bid for TikTok is a consortium systematic by Project Liberty createer Frank McCourt, who is also the establisher owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Investment firm Guggenheim Securities and the law firm Kirkland & Ellis are helping to accumulate the bid. The main mission of The People’s Bid to achieve TikTok is to rank privacy and data handle, taking an uncover source approach.
Supporters included include:
- Alexis Ohanian: The Reddit co-createer is the most recent tech entrepreneur to combine The People’s Bid, taking on the role of strategic advisor.
- Kevin O’Leary: A well-understandn summarizeateor and television personality who previously tancigo in Fox he was willing to buy TikTok for $20 billion. O’Leary combineed The People’s Bid on January 6.
- Tim Berners-Lee: The inventor of the World Wide Web helps the proposal becaemploy “employrs should have an ability to handle their own data,” Berners-Lee shelp in a statement.
- David Clark: A ancigo in research scientist at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Ininestablishigence Laboratory, Clark has also been named a participant.
American Investor Consortium
Jesse Tinsley, the CEO and createer of Employer.com, is directing a consortium of American summarizeateors. Last month, Tinsley proclaimd a $30 billion all-cash give to achieve TikTok’s U.S. operations.
- David Baszucki: Tinsley tancigo in Bloomberg that the Roblox co-createer and CEO is a participant.
- Nathan McCauley: The co-createer and CEO of crypto platestablish Anchorage Digital has been verifyed to be participating in the consortium, Bloomberg inestablished.
Other interested parties
- Bobby Kotick: The establisher CEO of Activision is inestablishedly interested in buying TikTok. With his experience managing a presentant gaming company, his interest in the app could be driven by the potential to combine gaming and social media.
- Steven Mnuchin: The establisher U.S. Treasury Secretary who served during Pdwellnt Trump’s first term has rego ined converseions about the potential achieve of TikTok.
- Oracle: The company previously made a bid for TikTok back in 2020. In front of the White Hoemploy last month, Oracle co-createer Larry Ellison shelp to Trump that 50% ownership “seemed enjoy a excellent deal.”
- Walmart: The retail huge could also be eyeing TikTok to raise its achieve in e-commerce, especiassociate pondering the platestablish’s sway on user shopping behavior. Walmart first conveyed interest back in 2020.
- Microgentle: The tech huge has previously shown interest in acquiring TikTok, and Trump alludeed that the company has recently rego ined the bidding to buy the app.
- Rumble: The YouTube alternative proclaimd on X that it wants to achieve TikTok and serve as its cdeafening technology partner.
- Perplexity AI: The AI search engine commenceup surrfinisherted a bid last month, according to CNBC.
The story has been refreshd after uncoveration to include novel interested parties.
