China mulls potential sale of TikTok US to Musk, Bloomberg News reports

[HereForTheParty]

Source: Reuters

Chinese officials are mulling a potential option that involves the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations to billionaire Elon Musk if the company fails to fend off a potential ban, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Chinese officials prefer that TikTok remain under the control of parent Bytedance, the report said, adding that the company is contesting the ban with an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Under one scenario, Musk's social media platform X would take control of TikTok U.S. and run the business together, the report said, adding that the Chinese officials have yet to reach any firm consensus about how to proceed and their deliberations are still preliminary.

TikTok declined to comment, while Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment. X could not immediately be reached for a comment.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/technology/china-mulls-potential-sale-tiktok-us-musk-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-01-14/

[PortTack]

1. He'll ruin it...just like twitter

[LauraInLA]

12. Good?

[orangecrush]

2. ...

[FalloutShelter]

3. The great Enshitification continues.

[Attilatheblond]

4. Can't see how Musk being the owner will stop the problems with TikToc social problems like bullying

and damaging young people. His 'stewardship' of twitter has made it a haven for nasty people who are only on social media to abuse others.

[durablend]

7. Who said anything about stopping it?

[drray23]

5. Not surprising at all.

Some of us saw it coming months ago. The arguments for TikTok ban were ridiculous. The concern was, well our data could be stolen. Heck, it’s true on every platform, that’s the business model. They provide a free platform, in exchange for being able to gather data on behavior, opinions, etc.. these are gold mine for marketers and politicians alike. Anybody can actually purchase that info.

If we accept that for Facebook and X, we should expect the same for TikTok.

The billionaire bros on the gop side easily manipulated the older, out of touch politicians to push that law, including our side who fell for it.

In the process we alienated younger people while the Trump campaign was reaching out to them on these platforms and popular podcasts ( like Rogan ).

Now, the right wingers are maneuvering to purchase it. Earlier it was Kevin o Leary , now it’s Musk.

The control of social media by the right wing will be complete.

[highplainsdem]

6. More, from Bloomberg:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-14/china-discusses-sale-of-tiktok-us-to-musk-as-one-possible-option

The talks in Beijing suggest that TikTok’s fate may no longer be in ByteDance’s sole control, said the people. Chinese officials recognize they will face tough negotiations with the Trump administration over tariffs, export controls and other issues, and they see the TikTok negotiations as a potential area for reconciliation, they said.

The Chinese government holds a so-called golden share in a ByteDance affiliate that gives it influence over the company’s strategy and operations. TikTok maintains that the control only applies to the China-based subsidiary Douyin Information Service Co., and has no bearing on ByteDance operations outside China. Still, Beijing’s export rules prevent Chinese companies from selling their software algorithms, like the one integral to TikTok. Because the Chinese government would have to approve of a sale that includes TikTok’s valuable recommendation engine, it has a significant voice in any possible deal.

TikTok’s US operations could be valued at around $40 billion to $50 billion, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Mandeep Singh and Damian Reimertz estimated last year. That’s a substantial sum even for the world’s richest person. It’s not clear how Musk could pull off such a transaction, whether it would require the sale of other holdings, or whether the US government would approve. He paid $44 billion for Twitter in 2022, and is still paying off sizable loans.

Musk has a positive reputation among many ByteDance employees in China, according to a person familiar with the matter. He is seen as a very successful entrepreneur, who has experience engaging with the Chinese government through his Tesla Inc. business, the person added.

[Cheezoholic]

8. Of course they are n/t

[MustLoveBeagles]

9. Oh goody

Another toy for Eloon to break.

[reACTIONary]

10. BBC:. TikTok says report of possible sale to Musk 'pure fiction'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78w9zz62ego

[maxrandb]

11. Great! America's 2025 choices are a Chinese dictator, or South African Nazi

Like Mick Jagger sang; "a choice of cancer, or polio"