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YouTuber MrBeast hinted that he is still in talks with people to buy TikTok after its ban in the United States.
The United States (US) government announced TikTok’s ban earlier this month. Government officials said that the app would be banned on January 19, 2025, unless TikTok owner ByteDance sold its American side of the business. The ban is active at the time of writing and YouTuber James “MrBeast” Donaldson claims he is in talks to acquire the app.
On January 14, 2025, MrBeast tweeted—billionaires “unironically reached out” to him to discuss buying TikTok. The YouTuber updated his fans on January 19, 2025, that he asked his audience to “stay tuned.”
Multiple businesses and content creators are reportedly trying to buy the app. With over 170 million American users, TikTok was one of the largest apps in the US before its ban. Many users are reporting that they cannot access the app along with other ByteDance apps and games like Marvel SNAP and Lemon8.
Will MrBeast Buy TikTok From ByteDance?
The US Supreme Court gave TikTok time until January 19, 2025, to sell the American side of the app. MrBeast hinted that he is in talks with people on January 14, 2025, by saying:
“Okay fine, I’ll buy Tik Tok so it doesn’t get banned.”
Just hours later, he followed up with:
“Unironically I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, let’s see if we can pull this off.”
Unironically I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, let’s see if we can pull this off 🙌🏻
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 14, 2025
As soon as the app got banned, MrBeast’s fans started tagging him on X and asked if he had an update. MrBeast responded to a tweet saying:
“Can’t say anything right now, stay tuned.”
Can’t say anything right now, stay tuned.
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 19, 2025
Acquisitions can be time-consuming with the recent Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger taking over 20 months. Even if MrBeast purchased the app, it could take months before TikTok is unbanned in the US.
Why Is TikTok Banned in the United States?
A law signed by United States President Joe Biden forced the TikTok ban on January 19, 2025. Government officials stated that they are concerned about TikTok potentially sharing data with Chinese officials.
The US Supreme Court said that TikTok needs to divest its American part of the business to a local company to continue operating. Doing so would force user data to stay within the US and officials could regulate it from sharing data with other countries.
Don’t worry I’m talking to TikTok right now
— AMP KAI (@KaiCenat) January 19, 2025
Popular Twitch streamer Kai Cenat tweeted minutes before the TikTok ban hinting at an acquisition. Similar to MrBeast, Kai might be in the race to acquire the app and help unban it. Until someone acquires TikTok, the app will stay banned indefinitely. Many users migrated to TikTok’s competitor RedNote while others are refuging to virtual private networks (VPNs) to get around the ban.
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