If ByteDance Decides to Sell TikTok, Who Might Purchase the App?

If ByteDance changed course and decided to sell the American version of TikTok, who could potentially purchase the app?

Will ByteDance Sell? Soon after President Joe Biden signed the bill forcing ByteDance to sell the app, the company said it would not sell the app, calling reports otherwise “untrue.” ByteDance is challenging the bill in court, indicating it is not done fighting for its survival.

Rebuild the Algorithm: Former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressed interest in purchasing the app. He told Bloomberg (Lean Left bias) earlier this month that he has “spoken to a lot of tech companies on working about rebuilding” the algorithm that powers TikTok in order to “make sure that it’s all disconnected from ByteDance going forward, and that it is very robust and secure.” Mnuchin has reportedly spoken with potential co-investors, but a purchase of the app would require Chinese approval, which is uncertain. Mnuchin stated, “The Chinese government has been very clear that they won’t give an export license on the algorithm and I understand that.”

“Incredible Opportunity”: Frank McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is reportedly planning to make a bid to buy the app, calling it an “incredible opportunity to catalyze an alternative to the current tech model that has colonized the internet.” McCourt’s effort gained the approval of Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, who said McCourt’s purchase of TikTok would “embrace the critical values of privacy, data sovereignty, and user mental health.”