TikTok’s Uncertain Future: Potential Buyers Emerge as Deadline Looms

The fate of TikTok in the United States hangs in the balance as the April 5th deadline for ByteDance, its Chinese parent company, to divest the platform approaches. Former President Donald Trump, who has historically advocated for a ban, signed an executive order extending the deadline shortly after returning to office, providing a temporary reprieve but intensifying the pressure on ByteDance to find a suitable buyer.

According to statements made by Trump, his administration is actively engaging with several groups interested in acquiring TikTok. While he refrained from disclosing the specific identities of these potential buyers, the article has highlighted some of the entities that have previously expressed interest. Trump emphasized the high level of interest in TikTok, stating, "A lot of people want it, and it’s up to me."

The complex situation has involved both the Trump and Biden administrations, reflecting bipartisan concerns regarding the popular video-sharing app. The genesis of the issue stems from apprehension that ByteDance could be compelled to share U.S. user data with the Chinese government, thus posing a national security risk. To mitigate these perceived risks, President Biden signed legislation mandating ByteDance to divest TikTok, with the threat of a ban looming if the deadline is not met.

The current timeline dictates that if ByteDance fails to divest TikTok by April 5th, U.S. internet service providers and app stores would be legally obligated to remove the platform, effectively rendering it inaccessible to American users.

The article also recounts the brief 12-hour period on January 19th when TikTok was temporarily banned in the U.S., pursuant to the legislation signed by Biden. The platform’s swift return was facilitated by Trump’s assurance that U.S. internet service providers and app stores would not face repercussions for continuing to provide access to the app.

While uncertainties abound, numerous individuals and entities have expressed interest in purchasing TikTok, including Project Liberty, a consortium led by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, who is joined by Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Another group of investors, spearheaded by Employer.com founder and CEO Jesse Tinsley and backed by law firm Paul Hastings, also submitted a bid. Notably, YouTube star MrBeast (James Donaldson) is associated with this consortium.

Perplexity AI, a U.S.-based search engine, has proposed a merger rather than a conventional sale, which would combine TikTok and Perplexity AI into a new, unified entity. While Elon Musk initially expressed openness to acquiring the platform, he has since retracted his interest, citing unfamiliarity with the platform and a lack of a clear plan for its future direction.

Other prominent figures who have considered purchasing TikTok in the past include Bobby Kotick, former CEO of Activision; Doug McMillion, Walmart CEO; Microsoft, which explored a joint acquisition with Walmart in 2020; and video streaming platform Rumble.

The trajectory of TikTok’s availability on app stores in the lead up to the executive order extension is a telling detail. Although the executive order took effect on January 20th, TikTok was unavailable for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store until February 13th. Despite this limitation, existing users who had already downloaded the app were able to continue using it. This scenario highlights the immediate disruptive impact of a ban and the potential effects on platform accessibility.

The ban timeline details reveal the back-and-forth process and underlying complexities between policymakers’ concern and user accessibility.

The deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok is quickly approaching, the question remains, what is next? The United States has maintained a consistent concern with the accessibility of personal user data and the possibility of this information being used to compromise national security. The concern is focused on Bytedance, the parent company of TikTok and its possible ties with the Chinese government. As an extension to a former order, Donald Trump recently signed an executive order that would give ByteDance until April 5th to sell TikTok. This deadline comes with the strong warning that if TikTok is not sold in that time frame, the social media platform will face a ban within the United States.

ByteDance has been approached by a plethora of different companies with bids to buy TikTok in an effort to maintain its use within the United States. Project Liberty, an organization led by Frank McCourt and supported by Kevin O’Leary and Alexis Ohanian, proposed an offer to ByteDance earlier this year. Another group of investors, guided by Jesse Tinsley, has also proposed a similar offer. A surprise addition to the group led by Tinsley is James Donaldson, more commonly known as MrBeast. The YouTube superstar has claimed there are "so many billionaires" reaching out to him and has even placed "New CEO of TikTok?" in his TikTok bio.

A different type of proposal came from Perplexity AI, suggesting a merge between TikTok and Perplexity AI. Other companies have considered purchasing TikTok at some point over the past few years, including Microsoft, Rumble, and Walmart. Elon Musk stated he had considered purchasing TikTok at some point, but has since changed his mind, claiming he doesn’t see what he would do with the platform.