WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - According to recent reports, former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has expressed interest in purchasing the social media platform, TikTok, in case its parent company, ByteDance, decides to sell it.
The Wall Street Journal has stated that Kotick has engaged with ByteDance co-founder Zhang Yiming regarding a possible sale, with the potential price reaching hundreds of billions of dollars.
In order to facilitate the purchase, Kotick may seek out partners such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who could use TikTok for AI model training. Kotick has also discussed the idea with other parties at an Allen & Co dinner.
However, lawmakers remain apprehensive that ByteDance might share user data with the Chinese government or manipulate American political views through the platform. In response to these concerns, a bill was unanimously passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, moving to a full House vote and potentially the Senate. The bill aims to safeguard national security from foreign-controlled applications and could force ByteDance to divest TikTok within six months or face a U.S. ban.
Kotick's interest in acquiring TikTok has emerged in light of these developments.
The potential sale of TikTok could reach hundreds of billions of dollars, and the involvement of Kotick and Altman could make this acquisition a reality. It is worth noting that Kotick resigned as Activision Blizzard's CEO after a 32-year tenure on December 29, following a reorganization post Microsoft's acquisition of the company.
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