Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter in 2022, is being eyed by the Chinese government as a potential buyer for TikTok, according to Bloomberg, as the popular social media app faces a potential ban in the U.S. on Jan. 19 if it is not sold to an American company.
Words by Antonio Pequeño IV & Mary Whitfill Roeloffs
Timeline
- January 13, 2025: Bloomberg, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, reported that Chinese government officials have considered selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to Musk if the Supreme Court does not stop the ban from going through on Jan. 19—though the people noted the deliberations are preliminary and officials prefer to keep TikTok under the ownership of China-based developer ByteDance (ByteDance told Forbes it “can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction” when asked about the Bloomberg report).
- January 10, 2025: The Supreme Court heard oral arguments over the law requiring TikTok to be sold to a U.S. company or face a ban, with justices appearing “inclined” to uphold the law after appearing satisfied with its focus on the controversial Chinese ownership of the app’s parent company, according to The New York Times.
- January 9, 2025: McCourt said his organisation’s proposal, the value of which was not disclosed, would keep the platform alive in the U.S. but rebuild it in a way that prioritizes Americans’ privacy and doesn’t rely on the current TikTok algorithm, which has raised national security concerns (it’s unclear whether ByteDance is considering the offer). Project Liberty’s plan would involve migrating TikTok’s U.S. users to an American-built digital infrastructure and would require significant interest from private equity funds and private investors, as well as debt financing “from one of the largest banks in the United States,” the group said in a statement.
- January 6, 2025: “Shark Tank” star and investor Kevin O’Leary, part of The People’s Bid for TikTok, told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum he planned to buy the app and that he would need President-elect Donald Trump’s help to do so.
- January 3, 2025: The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to uphold the law forcing the ban or sale of TikTok despite Trump’s support of the app, arguing TikTok has not shown enough to reason to justify a pause of the law’s date of taking effect and that Trump has not presented a viable argument for a pause.
- December 27, 2024: Trump opposed the potential ban of TikTok in a court filing, arguing if the Supreme Court intervenes, he could secure a “political resolution” after his Jan. 20 inauguration that would keep the app in the U.S.
- December 18, 2024: The Supreme Court announced it will review TikTok’s challenge against the federal law that could potentially ban the app, scheduling oral arguments for Jan. 10—just days before the law is set to become effective.
- December 16, 2024: TikTok requested an injunction from the Supreme Court that would block the ban against it until the conservative majority court rules on TikTok’s legality or dismisses the case, saying the pause would “create breathing room for this Court to conduct an orderly review … before this vital channel for Americans to communicate with their fellow citizens and the world is closed.”
- December 16, 2024: TikTok CEO Shou Chew met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate, according to CNN, and argued an injunction from the Supreme Court, which was ultimately not granted, would give Trump’s TikTok-friendly administration time to comment on the matter.
- December 6, 2024: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied TikTok’s petition to review the law against TikTok after the court’s three-judge panel said national security concerns outweigh TikTok’s First Amendment rights, later declining TikTok’s request to halt its ruling upholding the law.
- May 14, 2024: Eight TikTok users sued the federal government, accusing them of First Amendment violations and calling the ban “unconstitutionally overbroad.”
- May 7, 2024: TikTok filed suit against the federal government, challenging the constitutionality of the ban and arguing the app and its American users were having their First Amendment rights violated.
- April 24, 2024: President Joe Biden signed the bill requiring TikTok to be sold or banned, provoking a response from the platform, which claimed in a statement it “invested billions of dollars to keep U.S. data safe and our platform free from outside influence and manipulation.”
- April 23, 2024: The Senate voted 80-19 to pass the bill, which Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said was done to “prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage, surveillance, maligned operations, harming vulnerable Americans, our servicemen and women, and our U.S. government personnel.”
- April 20, 2024: The House in an overwhelming 360-58 vote passed the legislation against TikTok, with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., saying in a statement the legislation was “designed to address legitimate national security and privacy concerns.”
When Could The Tiktok Ban Take Effect?
The ban against TikTok could become effective as early as Jan. 19 unless ByteDance commits to selling TikTok to another company or the Supreme Court overturns the federal law behind the ban. The court is expected to hear oral arguments Friday.
What U.S. Company Could End Up Buying Tiktok?
A range of companies have shown interest or been rumored to consider a purchase of TikTok. Project Liberty, the group leading The People’s Bid For TikTok, has built a consortium to purchase TikTok that includes O’Leary and Guggenheim Securities. The People’s Bid website notes it is not interested in acquiring TikTok’s algorithm, which ByteDance has shown no intent on selling.
TikTok did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment on The People’s Bid. Amazon has also been identified as a potential buyer, with experts pointing to TikTok and Amazon’s deepening ties, such as the announcement of a partnership this year allowing users to browse and purchase products from Amazon on TikTok. Amazon also became the third-largest advertiser on TikTok this year in the U.S. Oracle and Walmart could potentially make a joint bid for TikTok, as the two companies joined forces to buy the app in 2020 before reportedly being stopped by the Biden administration over security concerns.
Microsoft could return to the table for TikTok after also trying to buy the app in 2020, though Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said he was “happy with what I have” after talks fell through. Video-sharing platform Rumble publicly offered to buy TikTok early this year and could reenter the conversation, having said it was previously “ready to join a consortium with other parties seeking to acquire and operate TikTok inside the U.S.” China, which has vowed to block the sale of TikTok’s algorithm, would have to approve a sale of TikTok to another company, though the country is unlikely to do so.
Who Is Billionaire Frank Mccourt?
McCourt, worth an estimated $1.4 billion as of Thursday, is an investor and entrepreneur with roots in his family’s Boston-based construction business founded five generations ago. He bought the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004 and sold it eight years later in what was the largest sports sale at the time, and has invested the proceeds into real estate, sports, tech and media. He has since invested $500 million to Project Liberty, an organization that advocates for data privacy.
Who Is Billionaire Tiktok Investor Jeff Yass?
Yass, who has an estimated net worth of $49.6 billion, is a GOP megadonor and a major investor in TikTok. He reportedly met with Trump and became possibly the biggest influence behind Trump’s switch from attempting to ban the app to later opposing its removal.
The co-founder of global trading firm Susquehanna International Group, which owns about 15% of ByteDance, Yass owned a $33 billion stake in TikTok as of this March and has financially backed conservative lawmakers opposing the ban, such as Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R.-Ky., donating $24 million and $32,200 to each, respectively, according to The Wall Street Journal. Yass has reportedly threatened to stop donating to Congress members who support the ban against TikTok, which would threaten his multi-billion dollar investment in the app.
The billionaire has donated millions of dollars to conservative PACs such as Club For Growth Action ($16 million), the Congressional Leadership Fund ($10 million) and the Protect Freedom PAC ($6 million).
Could Donald Trump Reverse The Tiktok Ban?
Potentially, though his options are limited. The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in January, meaning Biden’s Justice Department will defend the law in court instead of Trump’s Justice Department, which the president-elect could instruct to not enforce the law if the Supreme Court decides to uphold the ban before he takes office.
However, even if Trump could ask the Supreme Court not to push for the ban, the move may lack the impact his administration would aim for, as Apple, Google and Oracle could still drop TikTok since they would risk financial penalties if they kept the app online and Trump later reconsidered his position on TikTok.
Former Justice Department official Alan Rozenshtein wrote in a Lawfare op-ed that Trump could also lobby Congress to repeal the ban, though in doing so he would have to overcome the law’s bipartisan support. Additionally, Trump could allow TikTok to go down and bring the app back to app stores and the internet with a one-time, three-month extension that would potentially give time to help facilitate a sale of TikTok.
What Happens To American Data If The App Is Shut Down?
All of Americans’ TikTok user data could be moved to China in the event that the app is banned from the U.S. A precedent was set for such a move in 2020, when TikTok operations ended in India and left the app and ByteDance with access to millions of Indian users’ data years after the shutdown, according to Forbes.
Big Number
About 170 million. That is how many Americans used TikTok as of April, according to the app.
Key Background
At the heart of the federal government’s issue with TikTok is national security and data privacy concerns linked to the app and its ties to China. U.S. officials have claimed the Chinese Communist Party could use the app to spy on Americans or influence public discourse. TikTok has shot down claims it is beholden to the Chinese government.
The app’s CEO told Congress this year he “disagrees with the characterization” that the platform is spying on Americans and said TikTok is committed to protecting Americans’ data. After the law against TikTok was signed by Biden this year, the app said the requirement to sell itself is “illusory to the point of being no alternative at all.”
Experts and reporting by Forbes have shown ByteDance and TikTok are significantly intertwined, as former National Security Agency general counsel Glenn Gerstell told Forbes this year: “There’s no way to take the U.S. piece out of TikTok and sell it to someone.” ByteDance has tried to quell concerns about TikTok by noting 100% of U.S. traffic was routed to Oracle and U.S. Digital Service infrastructure in the U.S as of 2022. It has also claimed it is roughly 60% owned by institutional investors including the Carlyle Group, General Atlantic and Susquehanna International Group.
However, Forbes’ reporting has revealed that ByteDance has used TikTok to spy on journalists and TikTok mishandled sensitive data, including financial information, Social Security numbers and personal contacts of creators, advertisers, celebrities and politicians.
This story was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
