Fri, 04 Apr 2025

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 Who might buy TikTok as ban deadline looms? Amazon joins bidders

Oracle and the founder of OnlyFans are also among names that have cropped up as the president seeks to broker a deal.
Donald Trump says he is close to finding a buyer for TikTok, which could face a US ban if its Chinese owner doesn't sell by this weekend. A law passed last year requires ByteDance, the parent company, to sell the app. In January, Trump intervened and delayed the ban until April 5. Several potential buyers have emerged, including Amazon, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, Elon Musk, Frank McCourt, Kevin O'Leary, Alexis Ohanian, Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast), Tim Stokely, Microsoft, Blackstone, Andreessen Horowitz, and Perplexity AI. Some of these investors are part of a group or have expressed interest in buying the app. The US government has raised concerns that TikTok poses a national security risk due to its Chinese ownership, as user data could potentially be accessed by Beijing. However, China denies this claim. If no deal is reached by April 5, the app may face another ban and be removed from app stores. Trump has signed an executive order delaying the ban but not overturning it. He can extend the deadline if needed or allow the law to stand while ignoring it.
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