O’Leary Ventures President Kevin O’Leary joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss his efforts to buy TikTok after the Supreme Court upheld the upcoming sell-or-ban law.
The clock may not be running out for TikTok as quickly as some previously thought. The social media platform could get a lifeline from President-elect Trump’s TikTok critic-turned-user. Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he would “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day extension from the Jan. 19 deadline after he takes office on Monday.
On Friday, TikTok released a statement about a “possible shutdown,” expressing disappointment that the Supreme Court upheld a bipartisan bill that would ban the app unless its Chinese-owned parent company sells by Sunday.
The TikTok logo is seen in this photo illustration taken in Warsaw, Poland on December 28, 2024. (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
POTENTIAL TIKTOK BAN: WHAT SOCIAL NETWORK APPS ARE APPEARING IN APP STORES
“Today’s statements from the Biden White House and the Department of Justice did not provide the necessary clarity and assurance to service providers who are integral to keeping TikTok available to more than 170 million Americans,” TikTok said in a statement.
The social media company called on the Biden administration to ensure the ban is not enforced, adding that TikTok will be “forced to cease operations” if the White House does not.
WHAT IS REDNOTE? TIKTOK ‘REFUGEES’ ATTACK POPULAR CHINESE APP AHEAD OF BAN
“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary make a $20 billion cash bid to buy the app.
“There’s a reason Congress put this order before the Supreme Court. There’s a reason they ruled in its favor. It’s not worth the risk,” O’Leary said. “And so the obvious solution is to sell it to an American syndicate under a warrant.”
Kevin O’Leary is reportedly offering $20 billion in cash to buy TikTok. (Getty Images/Photo illustration/Getty Images)
This isn’t the first time Trump has hinted he’s considering helping the video-sharing app. Last month, Trump admitted he had a “warm place in my heart” for TikTok after using it in his last presidential campaign.
“He has repeatedly said that he believes that TikTok is an app where tens of millions of Americans express their First Amendment rights and that the federal government cannot just take away that First Amendment right and violate the constitutional rights of tens of millions of Americans who freely express themselves on this app,” she said. is Trump’s new White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt for “Wall Street by Maria Bartiromo“on Friday.
“That being said, of course the best outcome for everyone is for an American company to own this application,” Leavitt added.
The Senate approved the forced sale of Chinese-owned TikTok after passing a major foreign aid package on Tuesday night. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images/Getty Images)
TikTok, which took the internet by storm during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been the subject of controversy over its parent company’s ties to the Chinese government. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed concern that the app could be weaponized or used to collect vast amounts of user data.
CLICK HERE TO SET FOX BUSINESS IN CRETE
As of now, TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has until midnight to sell the platform.
