According to a recent Bloomberg publication, China would be considering selling TikTok’s US operations to Elon Musk to avoid its ban in the United States. For its part, ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, has described this information as “pure fiction,” even though its popular service could be declared illegal in the country as soon as this week. The estimated value of the social network’s US operations ranges between $40 billion and $50 billion.
The anonymous informants cited by Bloomberg They point out that “Beijing officials strongly prefer that the social network remain owned by ByteDance,” although they do not rule out a possible sale to Musk as part of a broader plan to collaborate with the future administration of Donald Trump. In this scenario, X (formerly Twitter) would absorb the company’s 170 million American users. app China and would control advertising revenue, according to the report. The estimated value of TikTok’s US operations ranges between $40 billion and $50 billion.
The media outlet notes that “it is unclear whether Musk, TikTok and ByteDance have held talks about the terms of a potential deal.” A TikTok spokesperson dismissed the report in a statement provided to Variety. “We cannot be expected to comment on pure fiction,” he said.
TikTok is at risk of being banned in the United States this week. The Government passed the Protecting Americans from Applications Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act last year. The legislation alleges that TikTok maintains ties to the Chinese government that pose a threat to the national security and privacy of American citizens.
ByteDance has been forced to give up a “golden share” to the Chinese government. This is a special management resource that allows authorities to acquire a minority stake in a company to influence strategic decisions and control the dissemination of content. The instrument grants the regime 1% of Douyinthe Chinese subsidiary of the business group that backs TikTok. The organization led by Liang Rubo assures that these agreements are common between companies that operate information platforms in China and do not affect their operations outside the country.
Despite this, the new US legal framework will force ByteDance to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner to maintain its operations in the North American country. If the transaction is not completed, the application stores must suspend the distribution of the software with immediate effect. The provision will come into force on January 19.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk defend TikTok
ByteDance last month filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to postpone the regulation. TikTok’s lawyers argue that the decree, approved by President Joe Biden in April, violates the First Amendment of the Constitution. They point out that the law “will close one of the most popular expression platforms in the country one day before the presidential inauguration. “It will silence the voices of citizens who use the service to communicate about politics, commerce, art and other matters of public interest.” The highest court must issue a ruling before Friday.
Donald Trump has asked the judicial entity to suspend the entry into force of the law. The president-elect assures that this would allow his administration to find a “negotiated resolution that can avoid a national shutdown of TikTok, thus preserving the First Amendment rights of tens of millions of people, while addressing the national security concerns of the government”. For his part, Elon Musk, appointed by Trump to head the Department of Government Efficiency, has expressed that “TikTok should not be banned in the United States” since the measure represents a violation of freedom of expression.
The information chain cnn reported in mid-December that Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, met with Trump in search of agreements that could favor the application in the face of the imminent legal deadline. The news conglomerate also highlighted that the owner of Tesla could use his political influence to intervene in regulations and prevent the exit of the service social media of the US market.
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