The popular YouTube star known as MrBeast was kidding about coming to the rescue—or is he
Selling TikTok may be the only way the popular social media app can maintain its presence in the United States.
In case you need a refresher, TikTok, owned by China-based company ByteDance, is facing a potential ban in the US due to national security concerns. The US government believes the Chinese government could use the short-form video service for espionage or political manipulation. TikTok has almost 170 million active users in the US, and over 2 billion users worldwide.
Also read: Will TikTok be banned in the US? Here’s what to know today as the Supreme Court hears the case
After a Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) investigation, the government stated it would ban TikTok in the US unless the Chinese-owned platform was sold to US buyers. The impending ban will take place on January 19, unless the Supreme Court rules otherwise.
Several billionaires have already expressed interest in buying TikTok’s US operations, including Elon Musk, Frank McCourt via Project Liberty, Bobby Kotick, and most recently, YouTuber MrBeast.
MrBeast, or Jimmy Donaldson, was the highest-paid YouTube in 2022. He currently has a net worth of $500 million. On January 13, he posted on X: “Okay fine, I'll buy TikTok so it doesn't get banned.” A day later, he followed it up with, “Unironically, I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this. Let’s see if we can pull this off.”
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