Various famous faces are offering to buy TikTok following news that it plans to cease operations in the US this Sunday (January 19).
The decision comes after the site and its parent company, ByteDance, lost an appeal against a law seeking to ban it.
Last month, President-elect Donald Trump asked the US Supreme Court to delay a potential ban, saying he “opposes banning TikTok” and “seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office”.
Yesterday (January 14), Bloomberg reported that the Chinese government – which holds a significant stake in TikTok – was looking at various options for the app’s future. One of these included the potential sale of the social media platform to tech billionaire Elon Musk.
The rumours come following CEO of SpaceX and Tesla purchasing Twitter for a staggering $44billion in 2022 and rebranding it as X. A potential sale to Musk was reported as being valued between $40billion and $50billion.
Numerous reports shared that the Chinese government is reluctant to sell the app, and in December ByteDance claimed that it had no intentions to agree to a sale. More recently, TikTok has denied the rumours that it will sell to Musk – saying, via Sky News: “We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction.”
Musk isn’t the only one with his name in the mix when it comes to buying TikTok. YouTube sensation MrBeast has also told followers that he would step up and acquire the platform to prevent it being banned in the US.
Taking to X/Twitter yesterday, he posted an update reading: “Okay fine, I’ll buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned.”
While he has a reported net worth of $1billion, he could theoretically buy the app – providing that ByteDance would agree to a sale.
MrBeast would later share another update, insinuating that he was seriously considering making a bid for the platform. “Unironically I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, let’s see if we can pull this off,” he wrote, not naming which billionaires would be willing to get involved.
Okay fine, I’ll buy Tik Tok so it doesn’t get banned
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 14, 2025
Unironically I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, let’s see if we can pull this off 🙌🏻
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 14, 2025
As well as Musk and MrBeast, rapper Meek Mill has also shown interest in taking over the platform, although fans have mocked him for his involvement.
“Sell tik tok to me!” he wrote on X earlier this week, also adding: “If they cut off tik tok we going x and FANBASE.”
Responding to the comments, various fans have begun joking about Mills’ hopes to acquire the site. A previous tweet reacting to the initial TikTok news reading “Just wait, Meek Mill’s bout to tweet something stupid in all this chaos,” has since been going viral.
“You really can’t steal his joy. if I put my ear to his head I bet I’d hear some seagulls and the ocean,” another user wrote, while a third quipped: “With all due respect I don’t think you have the mental or financial capacity to run it.”
with all due respect i don’t think you have the mental or financial capacity to run it.
— uzane (@Uzanethegoat) January 14, 2025
i fw bro like you really can’t steal his joy. if i put my ear to his head i bet i’d hear some seagulls and the ocean https://t.co/Ou6T687W01
— t. (@taeseru) January 14, 2025
meek every 3 tweets pic.twitter.com/YTmamHHwGR
— ocho 🤓 (@lilsex) January 14, 2025
The sell-or-ban measure for TikTok was issued into law by outgoing President Joe Biden last year. It came amid claims that the company’s ownership structure could allow the Chinese government to gain access to the data of its millions of American users.
India banned the app nationwide in 2020, while Taiwan and Afghanistan did the same in 2022. Now, to date, over 30 US states, Canada and the European Union have separately banned the app from use on government-owned devices over concerns it could pose a security risk.
The consequence of a US TikTok ban could have a significant impact on the music industry. A recent report by the platform claimed that a majority of US and UK chart-topping singles in 2024 were associated with a TikTok trend.
Last year, TikTok established a new licensing agreement with Universal Music Group, after the label initially withdrew its artists’ music from the platform due to an inability to work out a new deal. The site later shut its streaming service, TikTok Music.