Who should buy Tiktok now? Like MrBeast?

For a few hours, TikTok was no longer available in the USA. As no buyer could be found, the ban, which both Republicans and Democrats under former US President Joe Biden had campaigned for, came into effect last Sunday. However, the new president in office, Donald Trump, has granted TikTok a reprieve. A buyer for the service can now be found again for 75 days. Some of Trump's super-rich friends have already positioned themselves. There's just one big catch, TikTok's parent company Bytedance says so far that they won't sell at all.

What is certain is that TikTok and Trump are in contact. Trump is presenting himself as the savior of the app. And the TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew, is not fighting back either. After twelve hours of absence, TikTok returned with the message that thanks to Donald Trump – the service was available again. Chew was one of the tech billionaires who sat in the front row at Trump's inauguration. He comes from Singapore, TikTok is known to be from China.

Trump wants to turn TikTok into a US service

Nevertheless, Trump also wants TikTok to be sold to a US entrepreneur. At the presentation of the Stargate project, the investment package for an AI infrastructure, Trump said that he would particularly like it if Elon Musk or Larry Ellison were to make a bid. Ellison is one of the Oracle founders and has long been a close friend of Trump. But not only should the two buy TikTok, Trump has also said: “Buy it and give half to the USA.” Apparently, this is the only way to get an operating license.

But there are other people who have brought themselves into the game. Frank McCourt owns the French soccer club Olympique Marseille and has also founded Project Liberty, which aims to build a decentralized social network. Now Jimmy Donaldson has also registered his interest. Donaldson is better known as MrBeast. The Youtuber wrote on X: “Alright, I'll buy it so it doesn't get blocked.” And he subsequently confirmed his interest. However, Donaldson is only part of a potential group of investors who are said to have already met with other tech billionaires.

Perplexity has also recently come into play. The AI search engine is said to have made a concrete offer. According to TechCrunch, the company not only wants to take over TikTok, but also merge it with its service. The videos should then be findable in the search. There is a plan for TikTok's existing partners, who are currently not allowed to withdraw. This is part of Trump's stay decree.

The problem: Bytedance has always emphasized that a sale is out of the question. There had already been a deadline for the sale under Biden, which expired on Sunday. Although TikTok could hope that Trump would intervene, it was to be assumed that he would also tie the company to interests. This deadline will also expire.

A look back: Trump had still tried to ban TikTok himself in his first term. When he realized that he could appeal to young people through the service – and that he believed he had won them over as voters – his opinion changed. TikTok became one of the good guys. He had already identified Mark Zuckerberg and Meta as his new enemy after he was banned from the platforms. The reason was the call to storm the Capitol.

Now, however, Zuckerberg has also become a new friend. The Meta boss has apparently donated enough money for Trump's inauguration, and the two also agree that less moderation makes sense on Meta's platforms.

(emw)