Bobby Kotick, the ex-chief executive of Activision Blizzard, is considering purchasing TikTok from its parent company, ByteDance, if they decide to sell. This is happening amidst US politicians gearing up to either prohibit the application or compel ByteDance to sell it. The potential purchase plan has been presented to Sam Altman.
Bobby Kotick, who was previously the CEO of Activision Blizzard and resigned last year, appears to be considering the purchase of TikTok. This development coincides with the introduction of a new US legislation that could potentially prohibit the app or force it to be sold.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Kotick had a discussion about potentially purchasing TikTok in collaboration with Sam Altman, leader of OpenAI, and some others during a dinner last week. He also shared this concept with Zhang Yiming, the chief of ByteDance, which is the parent company of TikTok. The report suggests that if TikTok were to be sold, its price could potentially reach into the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Kotick was at the helm of Activision for over three decades.
Kotick's rumored interest in TikTok arrives amidst a tumultuous period for the popular social media app, as it faces a possible prohibition in the US, one of its biggest consumer bases outside of China. US legislators have recently proposed the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act" which would facilitate either the total banning of TikTok or its separation from ByteDance.
President Biden has shown willingness to approve the bill if it gets passed. The potential legislation, set for a House vote on Wednesday, mandates that ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, must sell the app to a US-based company, or one from its allied nations, within half a year if it intends to keep running in the US.
If this is not done, TikTok could be taken off from US app stores.
In the meantime, as a reaction to the rapidly progressing laws, TikTok has been encouraging its numerous US users to back it up. Last week, the app disseminated notifications, requesting users to reach out to their lawmakers.
It's anticipated that the bill will get through the House vote, particularly since it was unanimously endorsed by the Energy and Commerce Committee the previous week. Should the House approve it, the bill will next be transferred to the Senate for additional review.
Legislators are worried about the data privacy of TikTok and its connection to China. Nevertheless, The Wall Street Journal implies that the inclusion of Sam Altman in a possible acquisition might stir up apprehensions. This is due to the risk that OpenAI may leverage TikTok to educate its AI models. Such a scenario may not be favorable for users as well.
(Incorporating information from various sources)
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