Selling TikTok to a US company, so that it can remain active, does not appear to be a viable option.
Indeed, the Reuters news agency reported, the parent company ByteDance would prefer to close the application, and thus lose tens of millions of users, rather than sell it, in the event that the legal options available – such as the already announced appeal to the “anti TikTok” law confirmed by President Biden’s signature – were not successful.
ByteDance must sell TikTok or risk a ban in the United States. All that’s missing is Biden’s signature
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The reason: TikTok’s algorithm, the secret to the app’s success, is too valuable for ByteDance’s operations. A model that cannot be sold, according to sources interviewed by Reuters.
The issue is also practical: the algorithm is part of the intellectual property registered by ByteDance in China.
Furthermore, the Chinese government would not stand by while ByteDance sells TikTok and would most likely obstruct.
As expected, ByteDance has until January 19 to sell TikTok. After this date, if the transfer does not take place, the application must be closed, as it is considered dangerous for national security.
ByteDance, for now, is entrenched behind its position: the sale cannot be done. She is certain that relying on the First Amendment of the US Constitution – which protects freedom of expression – will guarantee her the guarantee she seeks to counter the decision of Congress and President Biden.
Today the US market is worth a quarter of the revenues generated by TikTok, while daily active users in the United States are 5%, according to unofficial data.
