TikTok ban: What's next for app as bidding war rages?
Published: 05:04 PM,Apr 04,2025 | EDITED : 09:04 PM,Apr 04,2025
TikTok app logo is seen in this illustration. — Reuters
Ahead of an April 5 deadline for TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the video app or face a ban in the United States, bidders are lining up to make a deal, but it is not clear yet if a sale will go through on time.
President Donald Trump has said he is 'very close' to reaching a deal on TikTok, with multiple investors involved.
After unveiling new global tariffs, Trump said he would consider a deal for TikTok in which China approves the sale in exchange for relief from the new levies — now at 54 per cent for Chinese goods imported into the United States.
Here's what you need to know about the future of TikTok.
WHO IS BIDDING FOR TIKTOK?
Zoop, a startup created by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely, partnered with the cryptocurrency foundation Hbar Foundation to bid for the app.
Amazon, Perplexity AI, marketing platform AppLovin, US billionaire Frank McCourt and influencer Jimmy Donaldson, better known as the YouTube star Mr Beast, have also entered bids.
Private equity firm Blackstone is discussing joining ByteDance's non-Chinese shareholders, led by Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, in bidding for the business.
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is in talks to buy out TikTok's Chinese investors, as part of a bid led by tech company Oracle. Trump has said he would like the US government to have a 50 per cent stake in any joint venture.
WILL SELLING TIKTOK IMPROVE NATIONAL SECURITY?
The US government has long claimed TikTok is a national security concern, but has released little evidence of specific breaches. Cybersecurity experts are divided over the effects of the ban.
'There was never a plausible threat model that showed the data collected by TikTok about its users could be used to undermine US national security,' said Milton L Mueller, a cybersecurity expert from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
'A change in ownership makes little security difference... the security impact will be non-existent,' Mueller said.
He said that unless US users were disconnected from global users in the way that Chinese apps are siloed from the global internet, content and data could be provided from ByteDance if requested by the Chinese government.
However Matt Pearl, a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank, said selling TikTok would prevent the Chinese government from spying on Americans or engaging in influence operations by manipulating the algorithm.
Trump could also target other Chinese companies, such as AI company DeepSeek, in a push for data sovereignty under the law.
WHY HAS TIKTOK REMAINED IN THE US?
The push to ban TikTok began in 2020 when Trump issued an executive order over national security concerns related to Chinese ownership.
Although the order faced legal challenges, the Biden administration later backed a legislative approach for ByteDance to either divest the app or have it banned nationwide.
Trump said he saved the app because it helped him win the 2024 presidential election, adding he had 'a warm spot in (his) heart for TikTok'.
This is despite lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle saying that ByteDance should have more time to divest the app, following the initial ban deadline, but also that TikTok remains a national security concern. — The Thomson Reuters Foundation
President Donald Trump has said he is 'very close' to reaching a deal on TikTok, with multiple investors involved.
After unveiling new global tariffs, Trump said he would consider a deal for TikTok in which China approves the sale in exchange for relief from the new levies — now at 54 per cent for Chinese goods imported into the United States.
Here's what you need to know about the future of TikTok.
WHO IS BIDDING FOR TIKTOK?
Zoop, a startup created by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely, partnered with the cryptocurrency foundation Hbar Foundation to bid for the app.
Amazon, Perplexity AI, marketing platform AppLovin, US billionaire Frank McCourt and influencer Jimmy Donaldson, better known as the YouTube star Mr Beast, have also entered bids.
Private equity firm Blackstone is discussing joining ByteDance's non-Chinese shareholders, led by Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, in bidding for the business.
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is in talks to buy out TikTok's Chinese investors, as part of a bid led by tech company Oracle. Trump has said he would like the US government to have a 50 per cent stake in any joint venture.
WILL SELLING TIKTOK IMPROVE NATIONAL SECURITY?
The US government has long claimed TikTok is a national security concern, but has released little evidence of specific breaches. Cybersecurity experts are divided over the effects of the ban.
'There was never a plausible threat model that showed the data collected by TikTok about its users could be used to undermine US national security,' said Milton L Mueller, a cybersecurity expert from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
'A change in ownership makes little security difference... the security impact will be non-existent,' Mueller said.
He said that unless US users were disconnected from global users in the way that Chinese apps are siloed from the global internet, content and data could be provided from ByteDance if requested by the Chinese government.
However Matt Pearl, a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank, said selling TikTok would prevent the Chinese government from spying on Americans or engaging in influence operations by manipulating the algorithm.
Trump could also target other Chinese companies, such as AI company DeepSeek, in a push for data sovereignty under the law.
WHY HAS TIKTOK REMAINED IN THE US?
The push to ban TikTok began in 2020 when Trump issued an executive order over national security concerns related to Chinese ownership.
Although the order faced legal challenges, the Biden administration later backed a legislative approach for ByteDance to either divest the app or have it banned nationwide.
Trump said he saved the app because it helped him win the 2024 presidential election, adding he had 'a warm spot in (his) heart for TikTok'.
This is despite lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle saying that ByteDance should have more time to divest the app, following the initial ban deadline, but also that TikTok remains a national security concern. — The Thomson Reuters Foundation