Former Trump treasury sec Steve Mnuchin putting together group to buy TikTok, urges Congress to pass bill

Former Trump administration Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is reportedly gathering a group of investors to buy TikTok, as legislation works its way through Congress that could see the popular social media app banned in the US if Chinese company ByteDance doesn’t sell to a US company.

Mnuchin told CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday, "I think the legislation should pass and I think it should be sold." The legislation passed the House on Wednesday in a 352 to 65 vote.

Mnuchin, who leads Liberty Strategic Capitol, added, "It’s a great business and I’m going to put together a group to buy TikTok."

"This should be owned by US businesses. There’s no way that the Chinese would ever let a US company own something like this in China."

While the bill faces uncertainty in the Senate, President Joe Biden has said that he would sign the legislation if it reaches his desk.

It is unclear if the Chinese government would permit ByteDance to sell TikTok to a US buyer. TikTok itself has lobbied against the bill, sending a message to American users to contact their representatives, which resulted in users, including children, threatening suicide and assassinations over the bill.

Among those throwing their hat in the ring to buy the platform are former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and free speech video platform Rumble.

TikTok’s most valuable and worrying asset is its algorithm, which was developed in China and delivers tailored content to users. CNBC reports that a sale of the platform without the algorithm would be less appealing to buyers.

TikTok estimates that around 170 million Americans use the platform, which is roughly half of the US population.