In a surprising twist in the tech and social media landscape, Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of gaming giant Activision Blizzard, is reportedly setting his sights on acquiring the popular social media platform TikTok. This comes amid growing concerns that the app may face a shutdown in the United States due to national security fears linked to its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Kotick has approached ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming to express his interest in purchasing TikTok. This potential acquisition is not just a business maneuver but a strategic play as new legislation looms over TikTok’s future in the U.S. market. Lawmakers are pushing for the sale of the app, or it risks being banned altogether.
Kotick’s interest in TikTok is not without merit. The app has recently achieved a significant milestone, surpassing $10 billion in cumulative user spending in 2023, marking it as the first video-sharing mobile app to reach such heights. Despite its financial success, TikTok has been under the microscope of the U.S. government. During Donald Trump’s presidency, there were attempts to ban the platform, which led to a lawsuit against the U.S. government. Although the ban never materialized, the threat has persisted with several states banning TikTok from government devices.
The stakes are high, and the price tag for TikTok is expected to be in the hundreds of billions. Kotick, who left Activision Blizzard following the closure of the Microsoft and ABK acquisition with a substantial payday, is said to be seeking partners with deep pockets for this venture. He reportedly discussed the idea with a group of potential partners, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, at an Allen & Co. conference.
The legislative pressure on TikTok is mounting. A bill, known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, has passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously and is headed for a vote in the House. If passed, it could lead to TikTok being banned from U.S. app stores and web-hosting services within five months unless ByteDance divests from the app.
With TikTok’s fate uncertain, Kotick’s potential acquisition could signal a major change in the platform’s ownership and its future in the U.S. market. With the RESTRICT Act threatening to cut off TikTok’s ties with ByteDance, Kotick’s move could be a game-changer for the app’s millions of American users. It remains to be seen whether this interest will materialize into a successful purchase, but it certainly adds a layer of intrigue to the ongoing saga of TikTok’s operations in the United States.
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