O’Leary details his plan to buy TikTok if app is banned
- A bill that could ban TikTok in the US garnered bipartisan support
- Bill would force ByteDance to divest ownership in the app or face a ban
- Kevin O'Leary: 'There's a 50-50 chance a bill passes'
WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, also known as “Mr. Wonderful,” said there’s a ” 50-50 chance” a bill passes that would force TikTok to be sold to an American company or face a ban in the United States.
If the bill passes, O’Leary told “The Hill” on Monday that he plans to buy the social media platform.
“Here’s my plan: Bring the lawmakers that put this bill forward, form a bipartisan committee of two Republicans, two Democrats as an oversight committee, which is really crazy for the next 18 months,” O’Leary said. “But bring them into the process to buy time. Because you can’t get a deal like this, not overnight. It’s really complicated.”
TikTok continues to urge millions of users to call U.S. lawmakers, urging them to oppose a measure that may result in the Chinese ownership group potentially risking a ban in the U.S.
The bill up for a vote this week has garnered bipartisan support and would force ByteDance, the China-based company that owns TikTok, to either divest ownership to the U.S. or face a ban.
The full House is set to vote on the bill Tuesday.
NewsNatino’s Tom Dempsey contributed to this report.