 "TikTok faces a potential ban in the US, because of which ByteDance, TikTok's parent company may be forced to sell the social media app to a non-Chinese company. Image: Reuters")
Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard, who stepped down from his role last year, seems interested in buying TikTok. This comes as a new law in the US threatens to ban the app or make it sell itself.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Kotick talked about teaming up to buy TikTok with Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, and others, over a dinner last week. He also discussed the idea with Zhang Yiming, the boss of ByteDance, which owns TikTok. If TikTok is sold, it could go for hundreds of billions of dollars, according to the report.
Kotick ran Activision for more than 30 years.
Kotick’s reported interest in TikTok comes at a turbulent time for the widely-used social platform as it stare at a potential ban in the US, one of its largest markets outside China. American Lawmakers recently introduced the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” which would make it easier for them to either ban TikTok as a platform or break it up, away from ByteDance.
President Biden has also indicated he would sign the bill if it passes. Under this proposed law, which faces a vote in the House on Wednesday, TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, based in China, would be required to sell the app to a company based in the US, or one of its allies, within six months if it wishes to continue to operate in the country.
Failure to do so would result in TikTok being removed from US app stores.
Meanwhile, In response to the fast-moving legislation, TikTok has been urging its millions of users in the US to support it. The app sent out notifications last week, asking users to contact their representatives.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe bill is expected to pass the House vote, especially after receiving unanimous approval from the Energy and Commerce Committee last week. If approved by the House, the bill will then move on to the Senate for further consideration.
Lawmakers are concerned about TikTok’s data privacy and its ties to China. However, The Wall Street Journal suggests that involving Sam Altman in a potential purchase could raise concerns. This is because it might mean that OpenAI could use TikTok to train its AI models. This possibility might not be ideal for users either.
(With inputs from agencies)