With the future of TikTok in the United States in jeopardy, a YouTube star known as MrBeast is among several groups of investors reportedly looking to buy the popular social media app before it is banned.
"I just got out of a meeting with a bunch of billionaires. TikTok, we mean business," MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, said in a video posted to TikTok last week. "We have an offer ready for you, we want to buy the platform." The amount of the offer was not disclosed.
CNN reported that Donaldson is part of an investor group led by Employer.com CEO Jesse Tinsley and comprised of "institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals" looking to acquire TikTok before it is permanently banned.
They are not alone. Bloomberg News reported this week that Chinese officials have been considering selling at least a portion of TikTok to Elon Musk. And a group that includes Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary and billionaire Frank McCourt has also offered to buy the platform.
On Wednesday, a rep for Donaldson told the Associated Press that he hasn't officially joined any bids to buy the app.
How we got here
The news comes days after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed to uphold a federal law banning TikTok unless ByteDance, its China-based parent company, sells the platform to a non-China-based company.
Former President Joe Biden had signed the law, which was passed overwhelmingly by Congress last year amid concerns that the Chinese government could use TikTok to spread propaganda to or collect data from approximately 170 million U.S. users.
TikTok briefly went dark in the U.S. on Saturday evening.
“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now,” a message on the app read. “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”
Hours later, service was restored.
"As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!" a new message on the app read.
In a statement Sunday, TikTok said it was "in the process of restoring service" and thanked Trump for "providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers" for the app to continue operating in the U.S.
Trump delays TikTok ban, proposes U.S. buy app in ‘joint venture’
At a pre-inauguration rally in Washington, D.C., the same day, Trump proposed that the U.S. should “own 50% of TikTok" in what he called a “joint venture,” and predicted there would be “a lot of bidders.”
At Trump's inauguration on Monday, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng were in attendance.
Shortly after he was sworn in as president, Trump signed an executive order delaying the enforcement of the law banning TikTok for 75 days so that his administration has "an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward."
The law includes a provision that allows the president to pause the TikTok ban for 90 days if ByteDance proves it is in the process of selling the app. But without evidence that ByteDance is actively working to divest from TikTok, his order could be challenged in court.
As he signed the order, Trump repeated to reporters that “the U.S. should be entitled to get half of TikTok” if a deal for the app is reached, adding that he thought TikTok could be worth a trillion dollars. He also floated imposing tariffs on China if it does not sell the app.
It’s unclear, though, whether Trump wants the U.S. government to own half of TikTok, or if he means 50% of the social media platform should be owned by a U.S. company. He did not elaborate.
TikTok not available in app stores
Despite Trump’s executive order delaying the ban, TikTok remains unavailable for download from the Apple and Google app stores.
So while U.S. users who already had the app downloaded on their phones have been able to resume using it, new users have not.
Android users who search for TikTok in the Google Play Store are greeted with a message that reads: “Downloads for this app are paused due to current U.S. legal requirements."
iPhone users who search the app store on their phones see a similar message that reads: "Apple is obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates."
The removal of TikTok from app stores has apparently created an opportunity for people with the platform downloaded on their phones. As USA Today reports, iPhone users who have kept the app downloaded are now offering to sell their phones on eBay for up to $25,000.
