Time is running out for TikTok. One figure stands out to try and save the social media app from oblivion. That man…is Bobby Kotick!
Yeah, not who I want, either.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Kotick has been floating the idea of buying the company to Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. They were at a dinner last week when it was brought up with Zhang Yiming, the Executive Chair of ByteDance. According to WSJ, a deal like this could go for hundreds of billions of dollars.
For those who may not know, Kotick is the former CEO of Activision Blizzard. Activision Blizzard was just acquired by Microsoft in October 2023. Kotick stepped down as CEO at the end of 2023.
Kotick’s interest in buying TikTok comes as the app will see a “ban”. This is thanks to the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” that has just passed the US House of Representatives and is now waiting on the Senate. If it passes the Senate, President Joe Biden has agreed to sign it into law.
A move like this would not be a great move for US users of TikTok. Having someone like Kotick in control of the company could allow for the US government to get easier access to its citizens’ data. This is something they can easily do with social media sites based in the US like Meta and Twitter.
Everywhere I look, this is turning into bad situation.
Source: Engadget
