TikTok bidding war: Amazon reportedly casts last-minute offer
What else is out there other than TikTok?
LiveNOW's Josh Breslow discusses the future of TikTok and other apps people can use with tech expert Stephanie Humphrey.
Amazon.com has reportedly put in a last-minute bid to buy TikTok, according to Reuters. The social media app has until April 5 to buy a non-Chinese buyer.
Reuters reported that President Donald Trump is expected to discuss the future of TikTok during an Oval Office meeting on Wednesday and consider a final proposal related to the app, according to a White House official.
Who wants to buy TikTok?
What we know:
Among the possible investors for TikTok are the software company Oracle and the investment firm Blackstone.
Other potential bidders include a consortium organized by billionaire businessman Frank McCourt, which recently recruited Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian as a strategic adviser. Investors in the consortium say they’ve offered ByteDance $20 billion in cash for TikTok’s U.S. platform. And if successful, they plan to redesign the popular app with blockchain technology they say will provide users with more control over their online data.
TikTok logo is screened on a mobile phone for illustration photo in Krakow, Poland on January 25th, 2025. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Jesse Tinsley, the founder of the payroll firm Employer.com, says he too has organized a consortium, which includes the CEO of the video game platform Roblox, and is offering ByteDance more than $30 billion for TikTok.
RELATED: Trump to review potential deals for TikTok on Wednesday
Trump said in January that Microsoft was also eyeing the popular app. Other interested parties include Trump’s former Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin and Rumble, the video site popular with some conservatives and far-right groups. In a post on X last March, Rumble said it was ready to join a consortium of parties interested in purchasing TikTok and serving as a tech partner for the company.
What we don't know:
Amazon declined to comment to FOX Television Stations.
What they're saying:
Trump looks to keep TikTok operating
Talking to reporters Sunday while on Air Force Once, Trump said he would "like to see TikTok remain alive." He previously indicated that he might consider reducing tariffs against China if the country approves the sale.
RELATED: Microsoft in talks to buy TikTok, Trump says
During his first term, Trump tried to ban TikTok on national security grounds, which was halted by the courts before his administration negotiated a sale of the platform that eventually failed to materialize. He changed his position on the popular app during last year’s presidential election and has credited the platform with helping him win more young voters.
TikTok restores service in U.S. after brief shutdown
TikTok said Sunday it will be back online for users in the U.S. after going dark Saturday night. Sarah Kreps, the Director of the Cornell Brooks School Tech Policy Institute, joins LiveNOW's Andy Mac to discuss.
"I won the young vote by 36 points. Republicans generally don’t do very well with the young vote," he said Sunday. "I think a lot of it could have been TikTok."
Trump has said that the deadline on a TikTok deal could be extended further if needed. He previously proposed terms in which the U.S. would have a 50% stake in a joint venture. The administration hasn’t provided details on what that type of deal would entail.
TikTok and ByteDance have not publicly commented on the talks. It’s also unclear if ByteDance has changed its position on selling TikTok, which it said early last year it does not plan to do.
What will happen on April 5?
What's next:
If TikTok is not sold to an approved buyer by April 5, the original law that bans it nationwide would once again go into effect. However, the deadline for the executive order doesn’t appear to be set in stone and the president has reiterated it could be extended further if needed.
TikTok legal battle
The backstory:
Trump’s order came a few days after the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal law that required ByteDance to divest or be banned in January. The day after the ruling, TikTok went dark for U.S. users and came back online after Trump vowed to stall the ban.
The decision to keep TikTok alive through an executive order has received some scrutiny, but it has not faced a legal challenge in court.
Concerns over TikTok
Dig deeper:
The U.S. has said it’s concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of user data, including sensitive information on viewing habits, that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. Officials have also warned the algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect.
TikTok points out the U.S. has not presented evidence that China has attempted to manipulate content on its U.S. platform or gather American user data through TikTok.
The Source: The Associated Press contributed to this report. The information in this story comes from a combination of Reuters reports, White House statements, and comments made by President Donald Trump. This story is reported from Los Angeles.