According to reports, Chinese officials are thinking about selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to billionaire businessman Elon Musk as a backup plan in case the well-known app is banned completely in the U.S.
This comes after ByteDance, the parent firm of TikTok, was linked to the Chinese government and raised national security concerns. According to reports available to BrandSpur digital news platform, Beijing would rather that ByteDance continue to manage TikTok.
However, as pressure mounts in the United States, where a Supreme Court decision might impose a ban on TikTok by January 19, conversations of alternate outcomes have started. ByteDance has been contesting the ban, claiming that it violates the right to free speech guaranteed by the Constitution.
However, indications from the court indicate that the law will probably be sustained. In one possibility, TikTok’s U.S. operations would be taken over by Musk’s social media site, X (previously Twitter), enabling the two platforms to work together to manage the app’s enormous American user base and advertising opportunities.
U.S. senators have pointed to China’s alleged “golden share” in ByteDance as a potential way for Beijing to exert control over TikTok’s business practices. Although the extent of ByteDance’s knowledge of these conversations is still unknown, there has been no official interaction between TikTok, Musk, and Chinese officials about a deal of this kind.
“We cannot comment on unfounded claims,” a TikTok official said, dismissing the stories as hypothetical. The stakes are high since Apple and Google would not be able to sell TikTok for new downloads on their app stores if it were banned in the United States. Existing customers might be able to keep using the software for a while, but without support services, it would eventually become useless.
