Activision’s former boss reportedly wants to buy TikTok

Bobby Kotickthe former head of Activision Blizzard is reportedly considering buying it TikTokas the app could be banned in the United States. The Wall Street Journal reports that Kotick has spoken ByteDancethe company that owns TikTok, about buying the app, which could cost hundreds of billions of dollars.
This comes as US lawmakers introduce a new bill that would force ByteDance to sell TikTok within six months or block it from being available on US app stores. President Joe Biden has said he would support the bill if it passes Congress.
The Wall Street Journal report adds that Kotick, the head of OpenAI, Sam Altmantalked about teaming up to buy TikTok at a dinner party last week.
Kotick’s interest in TikTok follows a rocky end to his 30-year stint at the helm of Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft acquired last year. The company faced a lawsuit that said it allowed sexual harassment and discrimination under Kotick’s leadership. The Wall Street Journal also said Kotick knew about the bad behavior and didn’t tell the board everything. Kotick was accused of harassment, but Activision Blizzard called the report “misleading.”
Lawmakers are concerned about data privacy and TikTok’s ties to China. US President Biden, whose administration has already banned the app from state-owned devices, has expressed support for banning the app in the US. However, former President Donald Trump, who once wanted to ban TikTok, has changed his mind, saying a ban would help TikTok’s rivals, such as Facebook and YouTube.
As the bill against TikTok gains support, the app has asked its US users to speak up for it, sending out messages telling users to call their representatives. The bill, which passed a committee last week, is expected to pass when the House votes on Wednesday. If passed, it will go to the Senate, and then the bill will be signed into law by the US president. Activision’s former boss reportedly wants to buy TikTok