Bobby Kotick has been at the helm of Activision Blizzard for decades and could move on to another giant after he leaves. TikTok is threatened with a ban or forced sale in the USA. The ex-ActiBlizz CEO is said to be interested.
With Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick's days at the helm of the “Call of Duty” publisher were numbered. His era ended at the end of Decemberwhich obviously doesn't mean that his name will disappear from the media landscape.
According to reports, Kotick may have his eye on the social media platform TikTok. After initial US attempts to stop the Chinese giant came to nothing, there are new advances. These apparently piqued the interest of the 61-year-old businessman.
TikTok is threatened with a ban or sale
The future of TikTok is a topic that concerns US politics. A ban or forced sale are being discussed. There are concerns that the owner ByteDance, based in Beijing, could pass on user data to the Chinese government.
A landmark bill recently passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee by a 50-0 vote. The vote in the full House of Representatives is imminent.
The draft calls on Beijing-based parent company ByteDance to divest from TikTok in the US or remove the platform from app stores and web hosting services there.
ByteDance, in turn, believes that separating the US part of the app would be impractical and would undermine TikTok's appeal, which is based on global connectivity.
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March 11, 2024 – March 31, 2024
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Hundreds of billions of dollars needed
While a complete ban in the US would affect 170 million US million users, selling the platform seems more effective. And loud Wall Street Journal Bobby Kotick is an unexpected prospect.
After Microsoft took over publisher Activision Blizzard for $69 billion and part of it went into the ex-CEO's pockets, Kotick seems to be looking for new investment opportunities.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Kotick has “expressed interest” in ByteDance co-founder Zhang Yiming. However, the necessary capital exceeds the possibilities of the financially strong entrepreneur.
The purchase price for TikTok is estimated at several hundred billion US dollars. And Kotick is currently looking for partners, one of whom is Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI.
“OpenAI could use TikTok to train its AI models if a partner like Kotick could raise the capital for such an acquisition,” according to the WSJ.
Further reports about Bobby Kotick:
The ban is far from a done deal – even if US President Joe Biden says he would agree to sign such a law if it were to pass Congress. But even after that, the Chinese have legal remedies available.
If sold, the next social media giant would be in the hands of the Americans – partially or perhaps completely – and would join giants like Meta (Facebook, Instagram), YouTube and Twitter/X.
There is no threat of a ban on TikTok in Germany. Last year, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser saw no reason for such a measure. However, the app is taboo for EU officials – at least on official devices.
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