TikTok could be sold for ‘hundreds of billions of dollars’ as Congress looks to pass a bill that would force the app to divest from its Chinese parent company amid national security concerns.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party unanimously approved a bipartisan bill on Thursday that would require TikTok to divest from Beijing-based company ByteDance within five months of the bill’s enactment in order to avoid a nation-wide ban.
Leaders in the tech and media industry are floating the idea of buying the popular app, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Sources said the former CEO of videogame publisher Activision, Bobby Kotick, and chief executive of OpenAI Sam Altman are rumored to be potential buyers.
‘Any price tag is estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars,’ the Journal noted.
TikTok could be sold for billions of dollars if the app is forced to divest from its Chinese parent company
The former CEO of videogame publisher Activision, Bobby Kotick (pictured), and chief executive of OpenAI Sam Altman have been floated as potential buyers
Sources said at Kotick discussed the idea of partnering to buy TikTok in front of a group that included Altman (pictured)
Kotick has reportedly approached ByteDance Executive Chair Zhang Yiming at a dinner at an Allen & Co. conference to express his interest in purchasing the company.
Sources said Kotick discussed the idea of partnering to buy TikTok in front of a group that included Altman.
The House select committee that introduced the bill has accused Chinese officials of using TikTok to spy on U.S. users’ locations and dictate its algorithm to conduct influence campaigns, making it a national security threat.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act would specifically designate ByteDance and TikTok as foreign adversary-controlled applications.
President Joe Biden has said that he would sign the bill if Congress successfully passes it.
Following the introduction of the House bill, TikTok used consumer location data to urge its users to call their representatives and demand the measure not be enacted, irking lawmakers.
Thousands of children called lawmakers on Capitol Hill Thursday, staffers told DailyMail.com, many of whom were crying begging that their beloved social media app not be banned.
‘It’s absolutely creepy,’ Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said of the TikTok congressional call campaign. ‘It’s really crazy and it’s a dangerous tool.’
‘It is an algorithm designed to be addictive.’
The bill is scheduled to receive a vote on the floor next week after passing through the House Commerce Committee with unanimous approval.
However, some in the Senate have called into question the legitimacy of the measure.
Following the introduction of the House bill, TikTok used consumer location data to urge its users to call their representatives and demand the measure not be enacted, irking lawmakers
‘I think it’s a terrible idea and it’s hysteria that’s running through both parties now.’ Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told DailyMail.com.
Paul argued that the bill would be an infringement on American’s First Amendment rights.
‘In America, we don’t just tell people you can’t own a company because we don’t like you. And 150 million people use their First Amendment freedom to express themselves on TikTok, and you can’t just have that taken away from them.’
He also noted that the bill could further distress tensions with China.
‘People need to remember some of the lessons of history, when you start banning companies and banning interaction between countries, you come closer to a war,’ he said. ‘It’s a huge step in the wrong direction.’