Newly inaugurated United States president Donald Trump has given the green light for Twitter-X owner Elon Musk to buy social media site TikTok.
Rumours that Musk might end up as TikTok's owner started some days ago, with reports China was fine with the billionaire acquiring TikTok's US operations.
How much TikTok would cost Musk depends on what he gets in the deal. With the TikTok algorithm, one analyst suggested US$100 billion to US$200 billion; without the algorithm, which China might not allow TikTok's owners to sell, the social network could go for US$40 billion to US$50 billion.
TikTok has felt the squeeze from US authorities for a few years now. In April last year, the US government passed a law giving TikTok's owners ByteDance 270 days to sell the social media site and app, or be banned.
The reason for the ban is purportedly national security, with TikTok being accused of avaricious user data collection practices, and its connections to China.
There's some confusion as to Trump's actions against TikTok. He issued an executive order towards the end of his first term as president, in August 2020, attempting to force the sale of TikTok for security reasons.
After that, the matter has bounced back and forth in US courts, but the Biden administration ban was upheld last week.
The day after, on Sunday New Zealand time, TikTok went dark in the US. A spokesperson for the outgoing Biden administration called the shutdown "a stunt" and said it was up to the incoming Trump government to enforce the ban.
However, Trump had changed his mind about TikTok, and the following day the social media app was back online. After inauguration, Trump signed another executive order giving TikTok 75 days to before the ban kicks in.
Whether or not the ban will come into effect and/or TikTok's US business will be sold in part or fully now is anyone's guess. Meanwhile, TikTok chief executive Shou Zhi Chew attended Trump's inauguration.
TikTok has shot to popularity in the US, with 175 million users and is reported to bring in US$1 billion a month in revenue. It competes against Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, particularly the company's Instagram app.
11 Comments
Surely once the app is banned in the US its worth $0 and easy to pick up for a bargain? Surely Musk sees that the longer he waits, the cheaper it will get?
Maybe now Trump has classified everyone is female via an executive order, Musk can now also buy out all the male toilets in the country too, a huge real estate coup.
This grift seems to be pretty in the open - Trump talking about how he can destroy the value of the company if they don't sell to the guy who funded his reelection at a decent price.
Great investment for Musk, few hundred million of donations and his soul for a multi-billion discount on another social media app.
How's your nazi salute coming along ?
"It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute," it posted on X.
Andrea Stroppa, a confidant of Musk who has connected him with far-right Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, was reported by Italian media to have posted the clip of Musk with the caption: "Roman Empire is back starting from Roman salute".
The Roman salute was widely used in Italy by Benito Mussolini's Fascist Party, before later being adopted by Adolf Hitler in Germany.
Well you could knock me down with a feather. Who ever could have foreseen such an outcome?
/sarcasm of the day entry.
If this goes through TikTok will be on borrowed time. Younger generations have no issue at all bailing from social media platforms at the drop of a hat. Myspace, anyone? Bebo, maybe? The unpalatable political aftertaste will just quicken the process.
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