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If TikTok is just in the business of earning money they would've sold.


TikTok cannot be sold because the algorithm cannot be sold under the export control laws enacted by China.


Bits that can't be exported can be recreated by the new owner, most likely with material differences anyways not just because the new owner might not be able to recreate the original faithfully but because they might not want to.


Who are they actually supposed to be selling to? Given the US has pretty active antitrust for now, I can't really think of anyone who has both the money and expertise to run it and would be allowed to buy it.


An easy solution is to spin off TikTok to its own company and then that company IPOs.


Why would I sell my business just to appease some gangsters on capitol hill?




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