Sale of the clock company

The wealthy surfer sure is hosting a lot of lobbyists and decision makers at his Hawaii properties.

He wants to force the sale of the clock company to him.

He is desperate for the technology and the algorithms, not to mention the money.

Mark Zuckerberg

TikTok

The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved a bill mandating that TikTok, the widely popular video-sharing platform, be sold within a year or face expulsion from U.S. app stores. This move is part of a larger legislative effort aimed at supporting Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, while bolstering national security measures. ByteDance Ltd., TikTok’s parent company, would be compelled to divest its ownership of the app within the stipulated timeframe or risk a ban in the United States.

Should ByteDance opt for a forced sale, it’s uncertain whether TikTok’s algorithm—the backbone of its content recommendation system—would be included in the deal. Excluding the algorithm could significantly alter the platform’s value and functionality.

While companies like Microsoft and Oracle have previously expressed interest in acquiring TikTok, analysts speculate that the true beneficiaries of TikTok’s potential exit from the U.S. market would be Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, and Google, led by Sundar Pichai. Meta, particularly through its Facebook and Instagram platforms, is well-positioned to absorb TikTok’s user base, with a significant portion of surveyed TikTok users expressing willingness to migrate to Meta’s platforms. Google’s YouTube also stands to gain from TikTok’s absence, albeit to a lesser extent.

The new law is meant to address worries about TikTok being owned by a Chinese company, which some fear could lead to national security issues if it follows orders from the Chinese government. But some people worry that this law gives the government too much control over what people can do online and could harm businesses.