ByteDance-owned social media platform TikTok has denied the reports on the potential sale of the app to Tesla boss Elon Musk to continue its operations amid a possible ban by the US government.
Earlier, a report emerged stating that “Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring the US operations of TikTok” if the US government enacts a law that would require ByteDance, a Chinese company, to divest its stake or the app will be banned, Bloomberg said citing anonymous sources.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk has not yet commented on the report. Musk bought the social media platform Twitter 2022 in a $44 billion deal. He later renamed the platform to X.
The Chinese government has discussed “one scenario” where X would “take control of TikTok US and run the businesses together,” the Bloomberg report said. While it is still “unclear whether Musk, TikTok, and ByteDance have held any talks about the terms of any possible deal," it added.
TikTok allows users to share short videos and is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, with millions of active users in the United States.
There have been concerns that TikTok will be banned in the US on January 19 unless the Supreme Court issues an order to stop it.
The US Supreme Court has heard arguments in TikTok's emergency appeal to block the law. Both TikTok and ByteDance have argued that the law violates the First Amendment rights of the app users. However, the US government claims the China-based TikTok poses a national security threat.
If TikTok's US arm isn't sold by Jan 19 or the deadline isn't extended, the app will likley be removed from Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store.
ByteDance has not mentioned whether the sale of its nearly 40 percent stake in TikTok will impact the US ban. Earlier, Chinese officials stated that any attempt by ByteDance to sell a stake in TikTok would be blocked as it would be deemed a technology export.
Last year, US Congress passed a divest-or-ban legislation for TikTok that received bipartisan support and was signed by President Joe Biden. The US has constantly raised concerns over Chinese ownership of TikTok, threatening the national security of the world's largest economy.
President-elect Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to suspend the law that will be implemented from January 19 to permit the government to pursue a “negotiated resolution that could prevent a nationwide shutdown of TikTok, thus preserving the First Amendment rights of tens of millions of Americans, while also addressing the government’s national security concerns.”
In his first term, Trump tried to sell TikTok to US-based companies over national security concerns.
As TikTok heads towards a potential ban in the United States, the rush to find another short video app is gaining momentum. Xiaohongshu, or RedNote in English has taken off in the US and is currently at the No.1 spot in Apple App Store's free app rankings in the country.
RedNote has a Pinterest-like design and is widely regarded as the Chinese alternative to Instagram. The social media app was founded in 2013 by Charlwin Mao Wenchao and Miranda Qu Fang as a shopping guide for Chinese tourists and currently boasts over 300 million monthly active users.
The app is said to have taken off among the younger Chinese population during the pandemic.
RedNote has found success with its strategy of using influencers to sell products to millions of people who are tagged with products as they scroll through photos and videos.
(By arrangement with livemint.com)