Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin wants to snap up TikTok after the US House overwhelmingly banned the social media platform.
This is what I was worried about a Tic Tok clusterfuck, pissing off the kids and opening the platform to another right-wing grifting billionaire to spread disinformation and fascist talking points.
This is breaking news with limited content available (though the YouTube video below is more than enlightening); only The Register has reported on the interview.
BREAKING NEWS On the heels of the US House of Representatives passing a TikTok ban bill, former US Treasury secretary and private equity mogul Steve Mnuchin is apparently thinking about buying the platform.
Speaking to CNBC's pre-market team at Squawk Box, Mnuchin said he hoped the TikTok ban would pass in the Senate, forcing a sale of the platform to a US-based parent.
"It's a great business and I'm going to put together a group to buy TikTok," Mnuchin told CNBC. Mnuchin didn't mention whether partners had been identified, or what phase the purchase was in.
The full Squawk Box interview.
From jeremybloom in the comments.
Gosh, I’m sure Mnuchin will have a consortium of all-American backers… not Russkis.
Dems Raise Concerns Over Mnuchin's Russia Investor Connection
Two Congressional Democrats have reportedly raised concerns about whether Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's ties to a major shareholder in Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska’s companies played a role in the decision to lift sanctions. According to The New York Times, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) both sent letters to Mnuchin on Tuesday about his connection to Len Blavatnik—an entertainment industry figure who also is a “major investor” in one of Deripaska’s companies, Rusal. Blavatnik and Mnuchin are reportedly connected through a 2017 acquisition between Blavatnik’s Access Industries and a company that had a deal involving Dune Entertainment—where Mnuchin served as chairman joining the Trump administration. Blavatnik reportedly founded SUAL Partners Limited with Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, which is a major shareholder in Rusal.