shark tank Investor Kevin O'Leary is offering $20 billion in cash to buy communist China's social media platform TikTok.
During an interview on Friday's FOX News american newsroomO'Leary said“Currently, $20 billion is being considered. Cash.”
According to Breitbart News, O'Leary said in March that he or another American intended to buy TikTok to avoid a shutdown.
He said at the time: [is] Nothing is prohibited. I'm planning to buy it. Someone will buy it. It won't be meta or google. Regulators will block it. A syndicate will be formed. I obviously want to be involved. What I would do is create a bipartisan commission, an 18-month advisory board. Go to them and ask them how much they will keep the Chinese. ”
TikTok's ban comes as most of its users are teenagers and young adults who don't want their access to be interrupted or restricted, Breitbart News reported Wednesday. It was reported that there were strong opinions about the possibility.
O'Leary's latest $20 billion offer came after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law requiring the company to find a buyer or face a ban, the Fox report continued.
In its decision, the Supreme Court upheld the Protecting Americans from Regulatory Applications by Foreign Enemies Act, a law passed by Congress with broad bipartisan support last April. law I gave TikTok 9 months. It will either exit its Chinese parent company ByteDance or be banned from its U.S.-based app stores and hosting services.
Congress has expressed concerns about how the app could be used as a weapon or as a way to collect large amounts of data from users.
“TikTok, ByteDance, and several users of the app sought to block the ban in May, arguing that the bill would stifle the free speech rights of the millions of Americans who use the platform. We promptly filed suit,” the FOX article said.
“After a lower court upheld the ban, the Supreme Court decided to hear TikTok's emergency request to block or suspend enforcement of the law on a fast-track schedule, just nine days before the ban was scheduled to go into effect. I agreed.”
O'Leary said TikTok will “go dark” after midnight Sunday unless a deal is reached to keep it afloat.
Meanwhile, TikTok users are moving to another app called Xiaohongshu (“Little Red Book”) as the ban looms, Breitbart News reported Friday.
“Xiaohongshu, which Chinese media has apparently dubbed the ‘Red Note’ to distance itself from its Mandarin name, is also under the control of the Chinese Communist Party and named after the ‘Little Red Book’ of all-time murderous champion Mao Zedong. “communism,” the article said.
