expressed interest in purchasing the social media platform TikTok, which has come under the scrutiny of the U.S. government for its ties to
The billionaire himself said that he does not trust the Chinese government, showing off two phones that he uses for himself — including one that he uses forwith no personal data on it.
O’Leary added that he would ask this committee if he could “leave 20, 30% … with the Chinese people,” though he clarified that “they will have no say” on how to manage the platform. He said this percentage of ownership by the Chinese people should be permitted because the country’s government “has lots of joint ventures with American companies.”
The billionaire also said that his solution would resolve the debate between restricting TikTok and free speech, as “nobody wants to lose the app.” Concerns surrounding TikTok have been discussed numerous times by members of Congress, with Sens. Marco Rubio and Mark Warner beingfor its ties to the Chinese government. Warner also expressed disappointment in the Biden campaign for using TikTok, calling it “mixed messaging.”, reversing his position from 2020 when he issued an order for ByteDance to sell TikTok or have the app banned.