The world's biggest YouTuber, MrBeast, seems to be looking to buy TikTok in the US along with other investors. Following the executive order signed by Donald Trump, TikTok was given a 75-day extension to find a buyer in the US. Otherwise, it risks a second and permanent ban.
"Okay, I'll buy Tik Tok so it doesn't get banned," MrBeast wrote on X on January 13. Although the post seemed humorous, the influencer was serious.
It appears that they, along with a group of investors, have made an offer to buy TikTok.
Two days after his post on X, MrBeast (whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson) posted a video on TikTok announcing his intention to buy the popular video platform.
See also: Complaints against TikTok, SHEIN, Temu for GDPR violation (also in Greece)
The offer comes in response to the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the federal law banning TikTok unless it is sold to a US-based company.
The investor group, led by Jesse Tinsley, founder and CEO of Employer.com, is made up of “institutional investors and high net worth individuals” who want to keep TikTok “alive” in the US.
" Our offer represents a win-win solution that preserves this vital platform while addressing national security concerns ," Tinsley said
The offer from MrBeast and the other investors is critical for TikTok, which has less than 75 days to sell its US operations.
TikTok stopped working on Saturday in the US, with a message saying: "Sorry, TikTok is currently unavailable. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, this means you cannot use TikTok at this time."
The app came back online a few hours later, after Donald Trump announced that he would sign an executive order after his inauguration to “extend the period before the law’s bans take effect.” The executive order was indeed signed, and TikTok is now available in the US for a few more days.
See also: TikTok: How to download videos to watch offline?
ByteDance had said it would not sell the app. The Chinese company tried to explain that keeping TikTok in the US by selling off the app's functions would be impossible because China would block the export of the algorithm. Doing so would result in a completely different service with a different algorithm.
If TikTok doesn’t accept MrBeast’s or other investors’ offer, it will be forced to shut down again. Otherwise, a new law would have to be passed to overturn the previous one. That seems unlikely, given the strong bipartisan support that the existing legislation received in Congress.
Offers to acquire TikTok
So far, there have been various scenarios of TikTok acquisition offers. For example, there appear to have been some discussions with Elon Musk, although this has not been confirmed by either ByteDance or the billionaire.
A group called “The People’s Bid for TikTok,” which includes Kevin O’Leary and billionaire Frank McCourt, also offered to buy TikTok.
"We will refrain from publicly disclosing the financial details of our offer until ByteDance is in a position to consider our proposal," O'Leary and McCourt's team said.
See also: Albania: TikTok banned after teenager's death
The current situation with TikTok highlights the critical issue of national security when it comes to technology. In today’s interconnected world, data and information are constantly being shared across borders. This raises concerns for governments that want to protect the privacy and sensitive information of their citizens from potential threats.
However, many American creators were disappointed with the TikTok ban. TikTok is a big part of their social and entertainment lives, so a ban would significantly impact their daily lives. In addition, the ban could lead to lost opportunities for influencers and content creators who use the platform to make money.
Source: edition.cnn.com
