On Thursday, Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced during an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box that he is organizing a consortium of investors interested in acquiring TikTok if its parent company ByteDance is compelled to sell it.
Mnuchin did not disclose the identities of his potential partners in purchasing the platform. However, he indicated that the group comprises various investors from outside Big Tech companies.
Wednesday saw a decisive vote in the House, compelling ByteDance to divest TikTok. Failure to comply would mandate that app stores such as Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store cease hosting the platform or incur fines of up to $5,000 per app user. A corresponding bill must now pass in the Senate.
Mnuchin expressed concerns that this would fall under Chinese control. This app is installed on everyone’s phone and gives it access to significant data. He further expressed that ownership should lie with US companies. It’s unlikely they would allow a US company to have similar control in China.
That said, Mnuchin faces a challenging task. He acknowledges that rebuilding the app using US technology would be necessary. However, TikTok’s unique appeal lies in its algorithm, which captivates users during various moments, from idle class time to lunch breaks.
