Amazon Was One of Several Companies to Bid on Purchasing TikTok From ByteDance

Following the TikTok ban, which was originally supposed to go into effect in January but now could become a reality as soon as April 5, a number of companies have put in bids with the goal of purchasing the app. The ban will only go into effect if TikTok cannot effectuate a sale of its American product, which is why so many companies have put in last-minute bids.

One company that drew some attention for its bid was Amazon, but now, many want to know whether Amazon is actually likely to become the owner of TikTok. Here's what we know.

Per AP News, Amazon is one of several companies that put in a bid for TikTok, but we don't know what that bid contained or whether it's likely to be competitive. What's more, we don't even know whether ByteDance is actually planning to sell the app. There have been fears that TikTok would be banned in the U.S. for more than a year now, and every time it seems on the verge of disappearing, something seems to happen that keeps it around.

Amazon also isn't the only bidder. Others include the software company Oracle and the investment firm Blackrock, as well as Perplexity AI, which presented a plan to merge with TikTok in March.

“Any acquisition by a consortium of investors could in effect keep ByteDance in control of the algorithm, while any acquisition by a competitor would likely create a monopoly in the short form video and information space,” Perplexity wrote, explaining why their merger plan made sense.

Billionaire businessman Frank McCourt has also put in a bid to purchase the company, and recently recruited Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian as a strategic advisor. Jesse Tinsley, the founder of the payroll company Employer.com, has also organized a consortium to put in a bid. What seems clear, then, is that TikTok has plenty of suitors if ByteDance ever becomes interested in a sale.

Although it's become one of the most popular social media apps in the United States, Congress passed a law to ban the app in 2024 over concerns that it could be giving sensitive user data to the Chinese government. ByteDance is a Chinese firm, and politicians of both parties have argued that that leaves America's personal information vulnerable.

There are also some related concerns that the Chinese government could influence the algorithm on TikTok or the kind of content that users see.

While it's undoubtedly true that social media companies collect data on their users (that's why the apps are free to begin with), many users are not concerned about this potential violation of privacy.

They like the kinds of content that TikTok serves up, whatever the consequences might be. TikTok may or may not be sold to a different company, and that sale could change the app in hundreds of different potential ways. For now, though, users are just hoping that they continue to have access to it for as long as possible.