Could Elon Musk be the solution for TikTok in the United States? The option emerges from China

With the future of TikTok in the United States still shrouded in uncertainty, the company is evaluating the option of Elon Musk purchasing the company. Under legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden, they must sever ties with its parent company ByteDance by Jan. 19. Otherwise, it will not be able to remain active in the United States. In this context, China put Musk's name on the table.

Although TikTok's first option is to find a way to continue operating as it has been, Bloomberg reported that one of the alternative plans includes the owner of X.

"A potential high-profile deal with one of Trump’s closest allies holds some appeal for the Chinese government, which is expected to have some say over whether TikTok is ultimately sold, said the people," the media outlet stated.

In this hypothetical scenario, which Bloomberg reports has already been "discussed by the Chinese government," X would take control of TikTok and jointly own it with U.S.-based TikTok. Both companies would somehow be under the same ownership.

Donald Trump met with TikTok's CEO, Shou Chew, in mid-December. The president-elect hosted the executive at Mar-a-Lago just days after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the recently passed law requiring TikTok to sever ties with its parent company, ByteDance, or be banned in the U.S. is constitutional. The deadline to sell the company is January 19.

The company argued in court that the legislation violates the First Amendment, a view shared by Elon Musk. Even Trump has opposed the ban in previous statements.

What does the legislation say that complicates TikTok?

The legislation passed by Congress basically forces ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, to sell the app within nine months. Otherwise, it will be officially banned in the United States.

If ByteDance does not find a buyer (or is unwilling to do so) within the time frame, it will be "unlawful for any entity to distribute, maintain, or update" the app. That is, no person in the United States would be able to download or update TikTok from app stores such as the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

"Congress is not acting to punish ByteDance, TikTok or any other individual company. Congress is acting to prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage, surveillance, maligned operations, harming vulnerable Americans, our servicemen and women, and our U.S. government personnel," Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said of the bill.

In 2022, President Biden signed the No TikTok on Government Devices Act into law, originally introduced by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO). As the name implies, this legislation bans the use of the app on all federal government devices.