Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Chinese language authorities officers are reportedly drawing up contingency plans for TikTok’s potential US ban.
- One potential state of affairs beneath dialogue contains promoting TikTok’s US operations to Musk’s X (previously Twitter).
- If this occurs, X might find yourself gaining TikTok’s 170 million+ consumer base within the US.
Replace: January 14, 2025 (2:39 AM ET): TikTok has reportedly known as the Bloomberg report talked about beneath “pure fiction.”
“We will’t be anticipated to touch upon pure fiction,” a TikTok spokesperson advised Selection when requested to touch upon the alleged discussions throughout the Chinese language authorities about promoting TikTok’s US operations to Elon Musk.
Authentic article: January 14, 2025 (12:32 PM ET): The deadline for TikTok’s potential US ban or sale is looming giant. The social media platform’s mum or dad agency ByteDance has until January 19 to both promote it’s US stake in TikTok or face a ban that might make the app unavailable within the nation. Now, it seems to be like Elon Musk is within the working to accumulate the US operations of TikTok.
In line with Bloomberg, Chinese language authorities officers are evaluating the choice of promoting TikTok’s US operations to Musk-owned X if the corporate fails to battle the ban. Whereas officers in Beijing want TikTok stays beneath the possession of ByteDance, contingency plans are being drawn up by senior Chinese language officers, as per the report.
The discussions to promote TikTok’s US operations to Musk are a part of the Chinese language authorities’s efforts to work with Trump and folks in his administration, which incorporates Musk. Whereas the short-video app is owned by ByteDance, the Chinese language authorities will reportedly have a say its US sale, ought to it come to that, mentioned individuals near the event.
Bloomberg studies that discussions throughout the Chinese language authorities embody one potential state of affairs that might see Musk’s X (previously Twitter) taking on TikTok’s US operations and managing the 2 platforms collectively. TikTok, with its consumer base of over 170 million within the US, might increase X’s enchantment to advertisers. Moreover, Musk’s synthetic intelligence enterprise, xAI, may achieve important benefits from the huge quantities of knowledge generated by TikTok.
It’s unclear if ByteDance is conscious of the Chinese language authorities’s deliberations or if there’s any consensus about the best way to proceed. It’s additionally unclear if Musk is in energetic discussions with TikTok and ByteDance a few potential deal.
In April, Musk shared on X that he believes TikTok ought to proceed working within the US, regardless of acknowledging {that a} ban on the platform would in the end profit X. Musk has not commented on the newest report.
