Chinese officials are exploring options to avoid ban on this social media platform in America.

The Chinese government, which owns a "golden share" in ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, is weighing the possibility of selling the platform’s business in the United States amid growing fears that its operations in America would be banned.

China reportedly prefers to keep the app under the control of its parent company but is also considering alternative options such as the sale of its U.S. operations to a local friendly investor.

U.S. media reports are pointing at billionaire Elon Musk as a potential buyer of TikTok’s business in the U.S., which both ByteDance and Beijing officials dismiss as “fiction.”

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Since its launch, TikTok has cemented its status as one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, surpassing competitors like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube in downloads in 2018. The app, which now boasts 170 million users in the U.S. alone, complains that it would lose $1 billion in revenue while its American creators would suffer earning losses amounting to almost $300 million, if the Justice Department orders its shutdown in the U.S.

Despite its widespread popularity, TikTok has faced scrutiny in the United States, where lawmakers express concerns that ByteDance’s ties to the Chinese government could enable interference or data misuse. In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill demanding ByteDance sell TikTok or face a nationwide ban. The Supreme Court has since signaled support for the law, with enforcement set to begin by January 19.

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TikTok’s U.S. division could be sold through a competitive process or via government intervention. One of the proposals on the table involves Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) assuming control of TikTok’s U.S. operations.

Neither X nor Musk personally have commented on these allegations. If he acquires TikTok’s U.S. business, his influence in the American social media landscape would expand significantly.

A deal of this magnitude would likely draw intense scrutiny from U.S. regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice. Former President Donald Trump, who had previously criticized TikTok, recently stated that his FTC appointee, Andrew Ferguson, would prioritize addressing "big tech censorship."

Sources: TikTok, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Wikipedia

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