SHARK TANK’s Kevin O’Leary Volunteers to Buy TikTok if Proposed Ban Passes
By Movieguide® Contributor
SHARK TANK’s Kevin O’Leary is volunteering to buy TikTok if the U.S. government goes ahead with plans to ban the China-owned video app.
“If this order goes through, it’s got to be sold. I’m going to put up my hand and say I’ll buy it, and I’ll tell you why,” O’Leary said while appearing on FOX & FRIENDS. “What I’m proposing is purchasing these assets into a new American company.”
He continued, “I’ll guarantee the servers are on American soil. I’ll guarantee you will close the Chinese back doors in the code. I’ll guarantee it becomes safe for the users, the parents, small business and large business. It’ll be an American company.”
O’Leary explained his potential plans for the company, saying, “I would ask permission to leave 20, 30% with the Chinese people, because they’ll have a non-control, passive position. They will not control the board. They will have no say in how we operate the company and therefore will resolve this issue around free speech.”
“I’d have to put together a syndicate of American and sovereign wealth money approved by this committee of the House,” he continued. “I spent a lot of time on the Hill. I think I have a lot of respect on both sides because I support small business. I have no agenda here other than to make this platform safe for Americans to use.”
Last week, a bipartisan House bill was introduced that would ban TikTok if its parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t divest from it.
“This bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it,” Alex Haurek, a spokesperson for TikTok, told The Hill. “This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs.”
When asked about the legislation, President Biden said, “If they pass it, I’ll sign it.”
Movieguide® previously reported on the potential ban:
TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms, but lawmakers are creating legislation that could ban the app in the United States.
A recent bill created by House Republicans and Democrats has demanded “its parent company, China-based ByteDance, to divest the popular social media company or risk the U.S.’s banning it from app stores,” NBC News reported.
Per The Hill, “The ‘Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act’ was unveiled Tuesday by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the top lawmakers on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.”
“It specifically defines ByteDance and TikTok as a foreign adversary controlled application and urges the parent company to divest the platform or face a ban in the U.S., while also creating a broader framework that would allow the president to designate other foreign adversary controlled applications,” The Hill noted.
The bill passed the House Energy and Commerce committee in a 50-0 vote on Thursday.
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