On Saturday night, Jan. 18, 2025, TikTok went dark. As a result of a federal ban put in place, after the U.S. government was concerned about the company ByteDance. For a little over 12 hours, millions of Americans were banned from TikTok. Although by midday Sunday, the company began restoring service to the U.S again.
In April 2024, Joe Biden signed legislation requiring the owners of TikTok to sell to a U.S. owner within a year, or the app would be shut down. After being sworn in, Donald Trump signed an executive order granting TikTok a 75-day extension to give ByteDance more time to find a buyer. Multiple people and companies have stepped up to be a potential buyer, but there is still not a final decision.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, owning Tesla and SpaceX, has been widely discussed as a potential TikTok buyer. Musk’s interest lies in expanding his influence in the social media space and integrating TikTok’s technology with his other ventures.
Jimmy Donaldson, content creator known as MrBeast, has said that he is interested in buying TikTok. He has communicated to his 340 million subscribers and 113 million followers on TikTok. MrBeast is reportedly working with many investors and fellow content creators to create a collective bid, aiming to keep the platform creator-friendly and innovative.
Kevin O’Leary, Canadian investor and star of television show Shark Tank, has been among others to express his strong interest in buying TikTok. He has joined “The People’s Bid for TikTok,” an effort to sell TikTok, led by Project Liberty founder Frank McCourt.
Larry Ellison, Oracle chief technology officer and cofounder, has spoken from the White House, where Trump stated he would like Larry Ellison to buy TikTok.
Steven Mnuchin, former U.S. Treasury Secretary who served during Trump’s first term, has rejoined the discussions surrounding the purchase of TikTok. Mnunchin’s involvement signals a strategic move to ensure the platform remains under U.S. control.
Perplexity AI, “a free AI- powered answer engine,” reportedly made a bid to merge with TikTok Jan. 18, as well as Jan. 26, Perplexity AI has proposed a new proposal to ByteDance.
Microsoft has also announced their interest in buying TikTok, with reports indicating that Trump mentioned Microsoft’s involvement on Jan. 27. Microsoft’s interest lies in expanding its social media presence and leveraging TikTok’s user engagement to boost its advertising and cloud services.
With Trump’s extension ending soon, the race to acquire TikTok continues. Though there have been multiple well known potential buyers, this uncertain future, leaves the users of TikTok eagerly waiting for a potential contender if any will take the ownership of TikTok.
