Kevin O’Leary says he’s offering $20B cash for TikTok

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Kevin O'Leary, a well-known investor and star of "Shark Tank," said he proposed an offer to buy TikTok for $20 billion in cash during an appearance on Fox News's "America's Newsroom" on Friday.

A bipartisan bill that was signed by President Biden labels TikTok as a threat to national security, and requires ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to sell its ownership or separation from the platform in order for TikTok to remain in US app stores.

The Supreme Court made a decision on Friday on TikTok's attempt to overturn the law, and the ban remains in place.

O'Leary noted the potential fines that any provider could face if they continued to offer access after the deadline.

“Starting at midnight on the 19th, any company providing services … such as Apple, Oracle, or a video compression technology firm acting as a consultant, will be liable for a $5,000 per day fine multiplied by 170 million, which amounts to over $850 million per day.”

He mentioned that companies are weighing the risks involved in keeping the app available given the decreasing time frame.

O'Leary said the leadership of companies that host the TikTok app are clearly being advised about any potential fines that might be imposed, considering possible action from the incoming Trump administration.

We're unsure whether an executive order can supersede a law enacted by Congress. There was a case in 1937 that saw success, but its applicability is uncertain.

A Canadian businessman expressed the opinion that the federal government hasn’t been able to verify whether U.S. account holders’ data is being shared with China’s leaders, but feels it still wasn’t worth taking the risk.

He acknowledged that the extent of the information outputted by the algorithm is currently unknown, but there's been significant speculation about it.

O'Leary said he thought the risk led the high court to uphold the ban on Friday.

"The court made their decision and it's a justification for that. It's not worth taking that risk," O'Leary emphasized.

Lawmakers, including President-elect Trump, are trying to find a solution for the platform, which has 170 million users in the United States.

“Right now, twenty billion dollars is on the table, twenty billion dollars, cash, twenty billion dollars,” O'Leary said touting his bid at the conclusion of the call.

He stated that he's waiting to determine if the proposal is sufficient.

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