TikTok may be blocked in the US, thus Activision Blizzard’s former CEO, Bobby Kotick, is apparently thinking about purchasing the app. According to the Wall Street Journal, Kotick has discussed purchasing the app, which might cost hundreds of billions of dollars, with ByteDance, the firm that controls TikTok.
This is in response to a new bill that US senators are introducing, which would require ByteDance to either sell TikTok within six months or remove the app from US app stores.If the bill makes it through Congress, President Joe Biden has stated he will sign it into law.
According to the Wall Street Journal article, Kotick and Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, talked about collaborating to acquire TikTok during a dinner last week.
After a difficult 30 years heading Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft acquired last year, Kotick has expressed interest in TikTok. Under Kotick’s direction, the business was sued for allegedly permitting sexual harassment and discrimination. According to the Wall Street Journal, Kotick withheld information from the board despite being aware of inappropriate behavior. Activision Blizzard called the story on Kotick’s alleged harassment “misleading.”
Lawmakers are concerned about TikTok’s connections to China and data privacy. US President Biden has stated his support for outlawing the app domestically, as his administration has already outlawed it on government-owned smartphones. Former President Donald Trump, who had previously supported banning TikTok, has since altered his position, claiming that doing so would benefit the app’s competitors, Facebook and YouTube.
The app has encouraged its American users to support the measure against TikTok by sending notifications directing users to contact their legislators as the bill gets traction. It is anticipated that the law, which was approved by a committee last week, will pass the House on Wednesday.
The US President will sign the bill after it passes the Senate.Reportedly, the former CEO of Activision wants to purchase TikTok.