To say that the nine-year-old social media platform TikTok is popular would be an understatement. According to backlinko.com, there are 170 million people who use TikTok in America. Globally, the platform has 1.12 billion "monthly active users." That is big-time popularity. But TikTok has hit a few snags recently. You may recall that recently, there was a serious move afoot to ban it here because some people were worried that China was using it to gather information on our citizens.
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TikTok Has Faced Shutdown Threats Before
Actually, there was a very real threat to TikTok during the waning days of the Biden Administration. A law was signed that banned the app due to concerns about Chinese intrusiveness into Americans' lives. That drew an angry, frustrated outcry from its fans. TikTok did go down briefly for a few hours when the previous presidential administration transitioned to the current Trump Administration.
Well, don't look now, TikTokers, but per outkick.com, "April 5 will be the final day of President Donald Trump's 75-day Executive Order extension for TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to find an American investor, or risk the app shutting down." That deadline is just days away. Will a workable solution be found in time?
Does Vice President JD Vance Have The Answer To This Problem?
Outkick via Fox News reports something interesting about Vice President JD Vance. He is allegedly "brokering a deal that would include ByteDance selling majority ownership to an American owned company, while the Larry Ellison-backed Oracle software company would 'safeguard the app' in its cloud."
Earlier this year, another effort to save TikTok in this country was supposedly put forth by Kevin O'Leary of the popular ABC-TV show about aspiring entrepreneurs, Shark Tank. O'Leary, along with an investment group, plus philanthropist Frank McCourt, reportedly wanted to put up $20 billion for the app. That group does not appear to be linked with the rumored VP Vance effort to rescue TikTok.
Would The Chinese Allow An American Buyer For TikTok Have Access To The Technology That Runs It?
This is not an idle question. It's no known for sure if the Chinese would share the algorithm that operates the app with an American buyer. What would happen if they don't? That is unclear at this time.
Elon Musk Has Posted That He Opposes A Ban
Musk certainly seems to have President Donald Trump's ear and confidence. He is a senior advisor to the president and the moving force behind DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). In April 2024, Musk posted on
