“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary said that he was working on a deal to save the popular TikTok social media platform from being banned in the U.S. over privacy concerns.
Republican lawmakers have banned TikTok from being used by state and federal employees after numerous reports that the platform collects and funnels sensitive information from users to the communist government of China. The company has denied the reports and is fighting a bill that would force divestment from ByteDance, a Chinese company with ties to the communist government.
‘The Supreme Court is gonna turn this down! Watch it happen.’
O’Leary revealed Monday while speaking on Fox Business that he was trying to save TikTok with a syndicate of investors who want to meet the government’s demands for the platform.
“What’s going to happen here? We don’t have to shut TikTok down. It just has to change ownership to abide by American laws as deemed by an order of Congress,” said O’Leary.
He went on to say that a purchaser may need to rewrite the algorithm and get the Department of Defense to approve the changes to safeguard Americans from spying concerns.
“This isn’t just about buying TikTok’s U.S. assets. It’s about something much bigger: protecting the privacy of 170 million American users. It’s about empowering creators and small businesses. And it’s about building a platform that prioritizes PEOPLE over algorithms,” he wrote on social media.
O’Leary also criticized the owner of TikTok for trying to oppose the ban by appealing to the Supreme Court.
“This company is living in a dreamland thinking the Supreme Court of the United States is going to uphold spyware against its American people. Ain’t going to happen!” he added.
TikTok has challenged the platform ban on the basis that it would be an infringement on free speech rights.
“The Supreme Court is gonna turn this down! Watch it happen,” he concluded.
The interview with O’Leary can be viewed on the video on the Fox Business YouTube channel.
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