Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, has his sights set on something big. He made an announcement via X, saying that he has joined forces with business executive Frank McCourt and The People’s Bid for TikTok in an attempt to acquire the social media platform.
TikTok is set to be banned in the U.S. on Jan. 19 if its parent company in Beijing, China, ByteDance, fails to secure a buyer for TikTok’s American assets. Concerns have been raised that the Chinese government could exploit the platform to access data from millions of its American users, posing a serious security threat.
In Dec. 2024, McCourt announced that he was forming a group of associates to purchase TikTok, named the People’s Bid for TikTok, to prevent it from being banned in the country. Furthermore, the project’s goal is to improve TikTok and allow its users more control over managing their data. “McCourt and his partners are seizing this opportunity to return control and value back into the hands of individuals and provide Americans with a meaningful voice, choice, and stake in the future of the web,” the announcement read.
On Jan. 6, O’Leary went on Fox News’ The Story with Martha MacCallum to talk about the potential acquisition, saying they need Donald Trump’s help to secure the deal. “I wanted to let him know, as well as others in his cabinet, that we’re doing this, and we’re going to need their help,” the investor said. O’Leary expressed interest in the platform early last year, but now his efforts are being merged into the People’s Bid for TikTok.
What is Trump’s stance on the TikTok ban?
In 2020, then-President Trump denounced China amid the COVID-19 pandemic, saying, “What happened with China with this virus, what they’ve done to this country and to the entire world is disgraceful.” A few days later, he stated, “As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States.” In Aug. 2020, Trump signed an executive order to ban TikTok, but it didn’t go into effect.
When Joe Biden took office, the TikTok security issue was still under discussion. Trump changed his tune in March 2024, saying that while he’s still concerned about data privacy, he’s opposed to banning it as that will give an advantage to Facebook, which he described as the “enemy of the people.” In April 2024, Biden signed a law mandating the platform’s ban in the U.S. if ByteDance failed to divest TikTok within 270 days, setting a deadline of Jan. 19, 2025.
Trump officially takes office on Jan. 20, a day after TikTok’s deadline. In Dec. 2024, the president-elect filed a request to the Supreme Court to delay the mandate, arguing that his administration be given the opportunity to find a “political resolution” to the issue after he’s inaugurated into office. The Department of Justice, meanwhile, is pushing back, pleading for the Supreme Court to reject Trump’s request and maintain the current deadline.
A Supreme Court hearing on Jan. 10 will address the legality of the TikTok ban law, and assess whether it infringes on the First Amendment rights of TikTok and its users. The outcome of this assessment could have significant implications for the social media platform’s future in the U.S., but not if O’Leary gets his way.
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