{"id":2236061,"date":"2024-05-02T22:28:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T02:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tiktoks-true-intentions-are-belied-by-the-hundreds-of-billions-its-leaving-on-the-table\/"},"modified":"2024-05-02T22:31:59","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T02:31:59","slug":"tiktoks-true-intentions-are-belied-by-the-hundreds-of-billions-its-leaving-on-the-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tiktoks-true-intentions-are-belied-by-the-hundreds-of-billions-its-leaving-on-the-table\/","title":{"rendered":"TikTok&#8217;s real motives are revealed by the massive amounts of money it&#8217;s missing out on"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftiktoks-true-intentions-are-belied-by-the-hundreds-of-billions-its-leaving-on-the-table%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2236061&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illinois-gop-legislators-react-to-judge-ordering-trumps-removal-from-ballot\/\" title=\"Illinois GOP lawmakers respond to judge's order removing Trump from ballot\">recent law signed<\/a>\u200d by President Joe Biden does not outright ban TikTok from the country. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act \u200dwould only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/german-high-court-rules-facebook-illegally-censored-content\/\" title=\"German High Court Rules Facebook Illegally Censored Content\">ban social media platforms<\/a> controlled by specific foreign adversaries, giving TikTok time to sell to a non-covered nation. Despite\u200b the potential \u200bfor massive profits, ByteDance, TikTok&#8217;s parent company, is hesitant due to Chinese regulations.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Contrary to the claims of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tiktok\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>TikTok<\/a> itself, a new law does not ban the social media behemoth outright from the country. That\u2019s what lawmakers said was contained in the measure that President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden <\/a>signed recently, along with military aid for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/israel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Israel<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Ukraine<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/taiwan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Taiwan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Rather, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act <em>would<\/em> ban social media platforms in 270 days to 360 days. But only if they are controlled by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dominion-used-a-version-of-the-solorwinds-orion-platform-which-provides-backdoor-access-into-their-voting-machines\/\" title=\"Dominion Used a Version of the SolorWinds Orion Platform Which Provides Backdoor Access Into their Voting Machines\">foreign adversary<\/a>, as defined by either Title X of the United States Code \u2014 which specifically designates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/north-korea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>North Korea<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Russia<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/iran\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Iran<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/china\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>China <\/a>as \u201ccovered nations\u201d \u2014 or by the president.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, only if TikTok is owned and operated by ByteDance or any other company based in one of the four \u201ccovered nations\u201d will the platform be banned. Practically speaking, ByteDance has nearly a year to sell TikTok to a buyer in literally any of the other 191 countries on Earth.<\/p>\n<p>Except TikTok continues to insist that the PAFACA is a categorical ban.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMake no mistake \u2014 this is a ban: a ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice,\u201d said TikTok CEO Shou Chew, who promised to fight the PAFACA in court. \u201cPoliticians may say otherwise but don\u2019t get confused. Many who sponsored the bill admit a TikTok ban is the ultimate goal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>TikTok\u2019s true intentions, of course, are belied by the astounding amount of money ByteDance is leaving on the table rather than comply with the PAFACA, sell the app to a new buyer, and make bank.<\/p>\n<p>Recall that when Elon Musk purchased Twitter, taking the company private in exchange for $44 billion in cash, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platform<\/a> had 229 million monthly active users. In the decade prior to Musk\u2019s acquisition, Twitter reported net losses every year but two, in 2018 and 2019, and annual revenue of just $5 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Compare those metrics to TikTok, which boasts 1.5 billion monthly active users, $16 billion in revenue last year, and an obvious pathway to profitability, with ByteDance reporting an overall net profit of $40 billion last year, up 60% from 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Even if Twitter\u2019s $44 billion price tag was significantly overvalued, it stands to reason that TikTok, which has more than six times as many users and more than three times the revenue, could ask for <em>hundreds<\/em> of billions, not merely tens of billions.<\/p>\n<p>According to the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em>, ByteDance has estimated that TikTok comprises as much as half of the parent company\u2019s total valuation, and back in December, ByteDance began to price share buybacks at $160 per share, or a total TikTok valuation of $268 billion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOther investors think ByteDance is worth less,\u201d the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> reports. \u201cIn private equity markets where ByteDance shareholders sell their stakes, the prices were lower than $130 a share, according to data from Rainmaker Securities, a private-equity brokerage. That would value the Chinese tech giant at less than $215 billion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If TikTok is indeed worth half of ByteDance\u2019s total value, that would conservatively value it at more than $100 billion. And even if ByteDance sold TikTok without its ultra-valuable algorithm, Kevin O\u2019Leary is putting together a bid valuing the platform between $20 billion and $30 billion.<\/p>\n<p>So with this much money waiting to be made, why wouldn\u2019t ByteDance\u2019s shareholders be chomping at the bit to sell?<\/p>\n<p>ByteDance\u2019s founder, Zhang Yiming, owns 20% of the company, with employees owning another quintile. The remaining 60% majority is owned by non-Chinese investors such as the Carlyle Group and Jeff Yass\u2019s Susquehanna International Group, with Americans comprising three of the company\u2019s five board members.<\/p>\n<p>But ByteDance will not sell, passing up on a quarter-trillion dollar payday, because the Chinese Communist Party will not let it.<\/p>\n<p>The CCP has overtly opposed the PAFACA and insinuated it would prevent TikTok\u2019s algorithm from being sold on the grounds of Chinese export control rules. Despite the fact that American users contribute 25% of TikTok\u2019s overall revenue, ByteDance has leaked that it would rather cease American operations entirely than sell TikTok. This is because although the company is technically privately owned under Chinese law, there\u2019s no such thing as an actually private company under Chinese jurisdiction.<\/p>\n<p>Like all Chinese companies, TikTok complies with the 2017 National Security Law that requires firms to \u201csupport, assist and cooperate with national intelligence efforts.\u201d Although the company maintains that it doesn\u2019t turn over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/heres-what-republicans-need-to-do-to-truly-take-on-big-tech\/\" title=\"Here\u2019s What Republicans Need To Do To Truly Take On Big Tech\">private user data<\/a> to the CCP, ByteDance publicly partners with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. And even without permission from ByteDance, CCP cyber spies \u2014 among the best in the world \u2014 can easily access user data stored on Chinese soil.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond its use as an espionage tool for the CCP, TikTok\u2019s most pernicious purpose is proven in the fact that China doesn\u2019t allow the app to operate in its own country. A fun house mirror version of TikTok, the app Douyin features a nearly identical user interface but none of the same content. While the TikTok algorithm cleverly oscillates between dumbed-down dances and intentional distortions of current events \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/2440948\/the-sad-civilizational-suicidality-of-the-zoomers-who-got-to-hand-it-to-osama-bin-laden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>consider the emotionally incontinent Westerners who rediscovered Osama bin Laden\u2019s \u201cLetter to America\u201d and regarded it with reverence rather than revulsion<\/a> \u2014 Douyin\u2019s feed censors out and downgrades frivolity and instead promotes educational content.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And whereas TikTok encourages young Americans to hate their country and stay online all day, Douyin limits young users ingesting a carefully curated stream of patriotic and pedagogic content to just 40 minutes per day.<\/p>\n<p>TikTok\u2019s value to the CCP is then twofold: it both allows the dictatorship to surveil its global enemies as well as brainwash our population into either stupidity or submission. To capitalists, TikTok\u2019s value may be in the hundreds of billions, but to communists, that is priceless.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite TikTok&#8217;s assertions, a recent law signed by President Joe Biden does not outright ban the social media giant from the country. Lawmakers confirmed that the measure also includes military aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. This law is known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2693,"featured_media":2236062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP22237542326690-1024x625.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2236061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP22237542326690-1024x625.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2693"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2236061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2236062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2236061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2236061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2236061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}