Former Activision CEO Wants To Buy TikTok As A Potential US Ban Looms

As more Americans are getting their news from TikTok, some are looking to buy the highly popular social media platform, while the government looks to shut it down if not purchased by an American company or individual soon. New reports indicate former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is one of those interested in buying TikTok, which has a price tag estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

Part of the reason there is such interest in purchasing TikTok is because the US government continues to push the ban of the social media app unless it cuts ties with Chinese owned company ByteDance. Currently, there is a bipartisan bill moving through Congress, that if passed could lead to TikTok’s demise in the US. President Biden has already remarked, “If they pass it, I’ll sign it.”


The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act is a bill spearheaded by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-ILL). The proposed bill cleared its first hurdle with a unanimous vote last week by the House Energy and Commerce Committee to bring it to the floor of the House. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La) remarked he will bring the bill to a House floor vote next week. The bill would require ByteDance to divest TikTok, or face a ban on US app stores and web hosting services, essentially banning the app from being downloaded and used in the US.

Perhaps adding to the government’s desire to rid the country of a Chinese owned TikTok is that more US adults say they are getting their news from the social media app. A Pew Research report showed that in just three years, the share of US adults who say they get their news from TikTok has quadrupled. The number grew from 3% in 2020, to an estimated 14% in 2023. After all the allegations of Russian interference through social media in the 2020 election, it seems politicians on both sides of the aisle are antsy about it happening again in 2024.

Obviously, with a price tag as high as the one for TikTok, Kotick would need partners in the business venture. One of those mentioned as a possibility is OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. If a deal including Altman does happen, it would surely provide for an interesting and entertaining new playing field for his conflict with X/Twitter CEO Elon Musk.