An update on TikTok’s situation

TikTok is like a partygoer bent over backwards trying to pass under an elevated bar – currently in limbo.

Right now, a bill is sitting in the Senate that, if passed, would force ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, to sell the video app within six months or face a ban from all US phones. And, while many experts and even some senators say the bill’s passage is a toss-up, the sharks are already circling.

Some of TikTok’s potential suitors:

• Consortium bids. Former Treasury Secretary and successful Hollywood producer Steven Mnuchin, former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, and Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary are each reportedly working to put together an offer.
• Rumble. In mid-March, the online video platform shared a statement from its CEO offering to join other parties seeking to buy and operate the app in the US.
• Previously interested buyers, like Oracle or Microsoft. However – this could bring additional issues, since any tech giant purchasing TikTok will almost certainly be scrutinized by antitrust regulators.

The intrigue: TikTok’s algorithm, aka its “secret sauce,” was created in China, meaning the country's government would have to sign off on the technology being sold to a US company – which is about as likely as Caitlin Clark or Angel Reese missing a wide-open layup. To get around this, Mnuchin in his pitches to investors has reportedly floated the idea of rebuilding the app’s algorithm from the ground-up.

👀 Looking ahead… The Senate is expected to try and rework the recently passed House proposal when it returns from Easter recess next week. And, while the situation plays out, TikTok isn’t standing idly by. The app recently launched a $2.1 million TV ad campaign across the US to #KeepTikTok.