TikTok responds to rumors China wants to ask Musk to buy platform: ‘pure fiction’
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Since there were rumors on Monday that China was looking to own the X buy TikTokthe latter’s representative said that it is “pure fiction”.
Bloomberg reported on Monday that Chinese officials are considering an option for Musk to take over TikTok’s US operations before the platform is banned in the US, “according to people familiar with the matter”.
The publication said Beijing officials would prefer that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, continue to own TikTok as it challenges the impending ban by appealing to the US Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the future of TikTok on Friday.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday upheld a law requiring China’s ByteDance to sell its popular short video app TikTok by early next year or face a ban. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/File Photo/Reuters)
Lawyers for the Biden administration on Friday reiterated their argument that TikTok’s Chinese ownership poses a “serious” national security risk to American users.
At the end of oral arguments, it remained unclear how the Supreme Court might proceed on the matter, though a ruling or order is expected before the Jan. 19 ban takes effect.
According to the scenario discussed by Chinese officials, X which led by Muskwould acquire and control TikTok US. With that, TikTok could be active as it tries to attract advertisers, as it has more than 170 million users in the U.S. The deal would also likely benefit Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, as it could take a huge amount of data created by TikTok, reports the publication.
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SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk speaks during America PAC’s town hall on Oct. 26, 2024 in Lancaster, Pa. Musk has donated more than $75 million to America PAC, which he founded with a Silicon Valley venture partner. with capitalists and technology businesses. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images/Getty Images)
People familiar with the discussions claim that the discussions are preliminary and no decision has been made yet on how to proceed.
When asked about the discussions, TikTok told Fox Business:
TikTok faces a potential ban due to the Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act. law signed by President Biden which passed Congress last April with bipartisan approval.The app could be removed from US app stores at midnight on January 19 unless it is removed from its parent company.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the National Assembly Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. Biden’s re-election campaign has launched a TikTok account to reach young voters, a move that (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
TikTok has faced with controversy it is a Chinese company and is allegedly used as a spy program for the Chinese Communist Party.Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle warned about TikTok is allegedly posing a potential national security threat through US phones.
This week, “Mr. Awesome” Kevin O’Leary announced that he is partnering with Project Liberty founder Frank McCourt to buy the platform’s US assets from its parent company, ByteDance, and “rebuild the platform so that prioritizes privacy of its 170 million American users.”
If their bid to acquire the social media platform is successful, O’Leary explained how they would change the platform to better suit US interests.
In addition to giving users ownership of their data and removing “Chinese spyware,” the investor emphasized that TikTok has the potential to grow from its current 170 million users to “200 million” by restoring user trust.
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The investor also said how he expects to bring countries like India, Switzerland, France, Canada and Germany to the platform after these changes.
“This thing is going to be the biggest television network in the world in two years,” O’Leary said of TikTok’s growth potential.
FOX Business’ Kyra Mouton contributed to this report.
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