Amidst mounting pressure from the US government, the fate of TikTok in the United States hangs in the balance. With a January 19th deadline looming for ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, to divest its ownership in the region, conflicting reports have surfaced regarding a potential sale. One report suggests Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), as a possible buyer, aiming to curry favor with the incoming US president. However, ByteDance has remained silent on the matter, while a spokesperson reportedly dismissed the rumor as 'pure fiction'.
One report suggests Elon Musk as a potential buyer for TikTok US, while another report dismisses the claim. By this time next week, we should know the fate of TikTok in the United States. This comes as arguments heard on January 10th convinced Supreme Court justices that TikTok represents a security threat to the US due to its owner, ByteDance's, alleged ties with the Chinese government.
As such, the previously outlined January 19th deadline for TikTok US to divest its ownership in the region to a US-based entity or face a ban, remains in place. Something peculiar could still happen over the coming days, and recent reports would seemingly lean that way. To that end, conflicting reports have surfaced within the past few hours regarding who would buy TikTok US and whether ByteDance would be willing to divest its holdings in order to keep access to the wildly popular app alive in the United States. An odd potential buyer has surfaced in the form of Elon Musk. The X (formerly Twitter) owner and Donald Trump’s current right-hand man is one name being floated, according to a report (paywall). The publication notes that despite wanting to keep TikTok a Chinese platform, ByteDance is considering a sale to Musk in order to curry favor with the incoming US President. Whether such an acquisition could happen remains to be seen, as there would be several moving parts to consider, least of which being how much power in the social media space it would give Musk, as both X and TikTok would make for a highly influential and lucrative pair. That said, regulators may take umbrage with such a deal, especially given how it could be interpreted as anti-competitive for the market. ByteDance has remained tight-lipped on the matter, with a spokesperson reportedly telling a publication, “We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction”. While that is not a firm no, it does bring into question why such a rumour would surface at this time. As mentioned, no one holds the ear of the incoming US President more than Elon Musk at the moment, so putting a speculative report into the ether may be an attempt to force Musk’s hand, which was the case when he purchased Twitter for far more than it was worth. Either way, it looks like the TikTok US saga is far from over, despite the January 19th deadline being on the horizon. Whether ByteDance will launch a last-ditch effort or the deadline gets pushed back further, remains to be seen. As a ban looks all but certain, new apps are rising in popularity in order to potentially supplant TikTok.
TIKTOK Bytedance Elon Musk Acquisition US Ban Social Media
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