In response to heightened regulatory pressures surrounding the popular video-sharing app TikTok, former United States Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has unveiled his intentions to assemble a consortium of investors aimed at acquiring the platform.
Mnuchin’s announcement comes on the heels of a recent legislative move by the House of Representatives to pass a bill targeting TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. The proposed legislation seeks to compel ByteDance to divest its US operations due to national security apprehensions, although the bill awaits scheduling for a vote in the Senate.
Speaking on CNBC’s business program Squawk Box, Mnuchin, who served under former President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021, outlined his strategy for TikTok, emphasizing the necessity for US ownership of the platform. Despite ByteDance’s apparent reluctance to sell the app, Mnuchin remains undeterred, citing the imperative for American entities to control such assets.
“It’s a great business, and I’m going to put together a group to buy TikTok,” Mnuchin asserted. “This should be owned by US businesses. There’s no way that the Chinese would ever let a US company own something like this in China.”
While Mnuchin refrained from disclosing specific details regarding his acquisition efforts or potential investor involvement, his initiative represents another endeavor to shift TikTok’s ownership to US interests. Notably, in 2020, then-President Trump endorsed a proposed acquisition deal involving tech giant Oracle and retailer Walmart, aimed at establishing a US-based entity for TikTok.
The scrutiny surrounding TikTok stems from lawmakers’ longstanding concerns regarding potential security risks associated with the app’s widespread usage among American consumers, boasting approximately 170 million users in the country. Policymakers fear that user data could be susceptible to exploitation by the Chinese government.
The House’s recent vote on the bill targeting TikTok underscores the mounting regulatory pressure on ByteDance. The bill garnered overwhelming bipartisan support, with 352 votes in favor and 65 against, signaling a bipartisan consensus on the urgency of addressing national security implications associated with the app’s operations.
While President Joe Biden has signaled his intent to sign the bill into law if it advances to his desk, its fate in the Senate remains uncertain.
In response to the legislative developments, ByteDance has consistently refuted allegations of compromising US national security interests, dismissing them as unfounded. Company spokesperson Alex Haurek condemned the House’s passage of the bill as a unilateral decision driven by unsubstantiated concerns.
Civil liberties advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have voiced apprehensions over the potential ban on TikTok, citing implications for freedom of expression. The ACLU underscored the significance of TikTok as a platform for communication and information dissemination, warning against measures that could curtail users’ rights to free speech.
