Jimmy Donaldson – aka Mrbeast – He was thrilled as he told his tens of millions of Tiktok followers about his attempt to buy the platform.
“You guys might be the new CEO! I’m so excited!” Donaldson said from a private plane. He then proceeded to promise $10,000 to five random new followers.
The internet creator’s post has been viewed more than 73 million times since Monday. Donaldson said he couldn’t share details about his attempt, but promised: “Just you know, it’s going to be crazy.”
Donaldson is one of several kidnappers who have expressed interest in buying Tiktok, the popular social media platform that has become the subject of a fast-moving political drama in the United States.
Last year, then-President Joe Biden signed a law that gave Techno’s China-based parent company until January 19 to sell the platform or face a ban in the United States.
The legislation addressed concerns about Tiktok’s ties to the Chinese government and concerns that the app poses national security risks.
President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of a joint venture.
“I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position,” he said at a social event on Sunday. “By doing this, we save Tiktok, keep it in good hands and allow it to [stay up]”
Trump has since signed an executive order allowing the app to remain operational for another 75 days.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg I mentioned That China was considering selling Tiktok to Elon Muskthe world’s richest man and a close ally of President Trump, who already owns the social media platform X.
He caught himself books On X this week that although he has long been against Tiktok bans, “the current situation where Tiktok is allowed to operate in America, but
At a press conference on Tuesday, Trump was asked by a reporter whether he would be open to buying the platform.
“I would be if he wanted to buy it, yes,” the president replied.
“I’d like to buy it, Larry,” Trump added, referring to the Oracle chief. Larry Ellisona longtime Trump supporter was on stage with him for a separate announcement.
Oracle is one of the major server providers for Tiktok, Management Many data centers where billions of platform videos are stored.
Last year, Oracle warned that banning Tiktok could hurt its business. The cloud computing giant was also a major contender to buy the social media platform in 2020, when Trump was trying to block it.
Billionaire investor Frank McCourt He has also expressed interest in Tiktok, and has been giving media interviews about the possibility for several months.
McCourt said he wants to run Tychok on technology overseen by the Project Freedom Institute, which he founded. He has been critical of the data collection practices of social media companies.
Project Liberty bids for Tiktok without proprietary algorithm. McCourt He said CNBC told CNBC this week that Project Liberty is “not interested in the Chinese algorithm or technology” even as it admitted the platform is “less valuable” without it.
Ultimately, President Trump will likely have a major role in selecting an American buyer for Tiktok.
“That would be a winner who would likely be politically sympathetic to President Donald Trump,” said Anupam Chander, a law professor at Georgetown University.
Professor Chander said that the 50-50 shared ownership model does not comply with the requirements of the law, which may prompt Trump to pressure Congress into reviewing the law.
For now, the future of the platform remains in limbo.
Professor Chander said the Biden administration had made an “unusual mistake” by allowing the law to give the president too much control over who owns Tiktok.
“It was a terrible idea to put the future of a huge information platform in this political vein,” Professor Chander said.
