US Billionaires’ Fight to Acquire TikTok Following Resurrection
President-elect Donald Trump celebrated the restoration of TikTok to US during a January 19 rally, following a 14-hour shutdown that coincided with the enactment of a nationwide ban, making Trump TikTok executive order the first action before his inauguration today.
Trump stopping TikTok ban came as the January 19 deadline passed for ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to sell its US operations or face a nationwide ban.
Billionaires Vying for TikTok Stakes
Frank McCourt and Jeff Yass are among the top billionaires vying for a stake in the ByteDance-owned company.
McCourt, with a net worth of $1.4 billion, according to Forbes, is pushing to acquire TikTok through a consortium promoting data privacy.
In parallel, Israeli-American billionaire, Jess Yass, who owns a whopping $33 billion stake in the TikTok via its parent company, has use immense political influence to oppose Biden’s ban of the platform. Yass is a major donor to the Republican party, threatened to withhold his funding to lawmakers that supported TikTok’s ban to protect his investments in the Chinese-owned company.
ByteDance’s sale, however, will require the Chinese government’s approval, further complicating TikTok’s acquisition efforts by the American/Israeli billionaire.
So, it’s fair to say that if Trump opposes TikTok ban – which apparently, is not the case – then he will need to ease possible pressures and hurdles by the Chinese government to fulfill the desires of the two of the Republican party’s donors.
Trump Against TikTok Ban?
Questions were raised because of the comments of Trump on TikTok ban announced during his victory rally in Washington, DC, “as of today, TikTok is back,” adding that “we have no choice, we have to save it.”
The President-elect proposed a “joint venture” that would let the US own 50% of TikTok to keep the platform up and running in the country while increasing profits. Now American users are questioning why Trump stopped TikTok ban completely, and the President elect’s relations to Pennsylvania’s richest man, billionaire Jess Yass.
The US’ short-lived TikTok ban from the US ignited a frenzy among American users, and its return was being reported around 1:50 p.m. EST on January 19, sparked even bigger question on the real motives behind this reinstatement.
“As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US,” a pop-up greeted American users, although the app remained unavailable on the Apple App Store.
Trump’s team announced that the president-elect plans to sign an executive order on January 20 to delay the Trump TikTok ban by up to 90 days.
Trump halt TikTok ban initiative would allow ByteDance more time to finalize the sale of TikTok’s US operations to an American company. TikTok has been under pressure to separate from China to address concerns over user data security and potential espionage risks.
Lawmakers warned of severe consequences for any companies continue to support TikTok, but when Trump reversed TikTok ban, the attention shifted toward a different stance that balances national security interests with the app’s commercial feasibility.
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