China may sell US operations of TikTok to Musk

US Supreme Court likely to uphold law that would ban Tiktok in the United States from Jan 19 unless it changes hand

China is considering selling off the US operations of TikTok to Elon Musk if the company fails to prevent a ban on the short-video app, according to a Bloomberg report.

Beijing, however, prefers that TikTok remains under the ownership of the parent company which is contesting the ban with an appeal to the US Supreme Court, the report added.

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What happens on Jan 19
The Supreme Court is likely to uphold the law that would ban TikTok in the United States beginning January 19 unless its parent company ByteDance sells its US operations. The legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden last year cites national security concern over the app’s ties to China.

The app could be shut down in less than two weeks if the Supreme Court issues an order to this effect.

What would a ban mean?
If TikTok isn’t sold to an approved buyer, federal law would prohibit digital stores from offering the app and bar hosting it. Users who already have the app will continue to have access to it but would no longer get updates. The app will disappear from Apple and Google’s app stores, so new users won’t be able to download it.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan 20, recently asked the court to pause the law so he can work out a “political resolution” to the issue during his second term.

If the Justices grant his request, a potential ban on TikTok will be delayed even further.

ByteDance
Founded by Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming in 2012, ByteDance is said to be valued at around $220 billion — nearly half of its 2021 valuation of $400 billion.

ByteDance says 60% of its shares are owned by non-Chinese investors such as US investment firms Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Japan’s SoftBank Group. Employees own 20% and its founders the remaining 20%.

Details of the relationship between TikTok and ByteDance remain unclear, according to AP.

ByteDance got into eye of  the US government during the Trump administration which issued executive orders in 2020 that required the company to sell TikTok’s US assets or face a ban.

Beijing opposed it and revised a list of technologies that would need Chinese government approval before they are exported.

TikTok has more than 170 million users in the US that include most teens and a third of adults, according to the Pew Research Center.