Risking being banned in the United States from January 19, Tiktok could be saved at the last minute by being bought. And, several personalities have expressed their interest.
Since last April, Tiktok has been under threat of a ban in the United States. A threat that is getting closer, the Chinese social network can only avoid banishment if it cuts ties with its parent company, Bytedance. And this, by January 19.
In other words, the application must be repurchased to be saved. The list of potential buyers has also grown in recent days, notably with Elon Musk.
Elon Musk and MrBeast, new interested?
Already owner of X, Elon Musk could indeed buy Tiktok. According to Bloomberg, the billionaire is currently in discussions with China for this. This would be one of the ways for the Chinese government and Bytedance to prevent the social network from being banned in the United States.
“According to a scenario envisaged by the Chinese government, X (…) would take control of the American TikTok and manage the two companies together,” indicated the financial information agency.
This information, however, was quickly denied by Tiktok itself, calling it “pure fiction”.
MrBeast, the most followed YouTuber in the world on the video platform (343 million subscribers), would also be interested. “Ok, very good, I will buy Tiktok so that it is not banned,” said the influencer on X this Tuesday, January 14.
A project that comes to fruition
In addition to these two personalities, others have expressed interest in the Chinese application in 2024. Among them is Franck McCourt, owner of Olympique de Marseille. This, as part of its project consisting of creating a “new internet”, which would regain control of the web from large platforms like Instagram, X or even Youtube. According to Reuters, Frank McCourt recently proposed a formal offer to Bytedance to buy Tiktok’s American assets.
Steven Mnuchin, former US Treasury Secretary under Donald Trump, also wants to acquire Tiktok, by bringing together a group of investors, as he declared last March. Bobby Kotick, former boss of video game publisher Activision Blizzard, has also expressed interest, as has Kevin O’Leary, businessman and star of the American reality TV show Shark Tank. Since their announcement, however, they have not returned to the subject.
