President Trump proposes that tech titans Elon Musk or Larry Ellison acquire TikTok, offering the US government a 50% stake in exchange for permitting. The plan raises legal and logistical questions about the government's role in operating a social media platform.
President Donald Trump has expressed openness to tech billionaires Elon Musk or Larry Ellison purchasing TikTok. During a press conference alongside Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, SoftBank CEO Masa Son, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to announce a $500 billion artificial intelligence infrastructure investment, Trump made the proposition. 'Larry, let's negotiate in front of the media,' Trump said.
'What I'm thinking about saying to somebody is, buy it, and give half to the United States of America. Half, and we'll give you the permit. And they'll have a great partner, the United States.' 'Sounds like a good deal to me, Mr. President,' Ellison responded. The logistics of this potential deal remain unclear, as does the legality of the US government operating a speech platform without infringing upon the First Amendment. This scenario, however, illustrates the potential for close ties between Silicon Valley and the Trump administration over the next four years. Trump signed an executive order on Monday instructing his administration to refrain from enforcing the law on service providers covered by the forced divestiture bill, including Oracle, Apple, and Google, for 75 days. Legal experts contend that this action offers limited legal protection for these companies to violate federal law and risk $850 billion in penalties. Despite this, Oracle appears to be relying on Trump's assurances to facilitate TikTok's continued operation in the US after the January 19th sale deadline, although the company has yet to comment directly. TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, based in China, has received other offers, including from billionaire Frank McCourt's Project Liberty and, more recently, YouTube content creator MrBeast, whose investor group is receiving legal counsel from a team that includes the brother of Trump's attorney general nominee. As the press conference concluded, a reporter inquired about whether Trump personally uses TikTok on his phone. 'No, but I think I might put it there,' Trump replied. 'I think I'll get it right now.
TIKTOK DONALD TRUMP LARRY ELLISON ELON MUSK US GOVERNMENT SOCIAL MEDIA TECH REGULATION
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