MrBeast has shared an update for his followers after declaring he would ‘buy TikTok’ to prevent it from being banned in the US.

Is TikTok really getting banned?

The Chinese company ByteDance has just four days left to sell TikTok or risk getting banned in the US due to allegations that the company is linked to the Chinese government.

Officials and lawmakers in the US have raised concerns that ByteDance has access to the data of approximately 170 million users in the US, putting that data at risk if China asks the company to hand it over.

ByteDance has been described as a ‘national security threat’ (Anna Barclay/Getty Images)

In fact, the US Justice Department has claimed TikTok poses ‘a national-security threat of immense depth and scale’ due to its parent company.

As a result, President Joe Biden signed a law last year which demanded that ByteDance sell, or TikTok would be shut down in the US. The deadline to sell falls on 19 January – just one day before Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as the new president.

ByteDance has responded by claiming the law is ‘unconstitutional’, but they have ruled out the possibility of a sale.

What has MrBeast said about the ban?

As millions of TikTok users express concerns over the loss of TikTok, MrBeast shared what seemed to be a joke tweet about how he’d save it.

On January 14, he posted: “Okay fine, I’ll buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned.”

MrBeast seemed to be joking about buying TikTok (X/@MrBeast)

With a net worth of approximately $1 billion, according to Celebrity Net Worth, the YouTuber has a better chance than most at being able to afford the app; but that doesn’t mean ByteDance would agree to a sale.

Still, MrBeast indicated he was keen to move forward with the idea, as he shared an update on Twitter a few hours after his first post.

He wrote: “Unironically I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, let’s see if we can pull this off.”

MrBeast claimed billionaires have reached out to him about the sale (X/@MrBeast)

MrBeast didn’t reveal exactly which billionaires are involved in this apparent venture, but fans were quick to joke about what the content creator might do with the app.

“‘I just bought TikTok and I’m giving it away to one lucky subscriber’,” one Twitter user joked, in reference to some of MrBeast’s viral challenges.

What will happen if TikTok isn’t sold?

If the January 19 deadline comes and goes with no sale and the ban goes into effect, TikTok will no longer be available to download for new users.

Those who already have the app would still be able to access it, however new updates would not be available, meaning the app would likely become unusable over time.

As the ban continues to loom, TikTok users are familiarizing themselves with a new app, RedNote; another short-form video app also from China.

As the clock ticks down to TikTok’s final days in the US, a business litigator has warned Americans against trying to trick the system.

For those that don’t know, US Congress passed a bipartisan bill in April last year to prohibit TikTok from providing its services in America unless its parent company ByteDance, of China, relinquished control over it by January 19, 2025.

When will TikTok be banned in the US?

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look likely that TikTok will be sold and so as of Sunday (January 19) the app will be gradually frozen out of society in the US, with it being taken off the app store and updates will cease.

It comes on President Joe Biden‘s last day in office, with the US Justice Department claiming it poses ‘a national-security threat of immense depth and scale’ – due to concerns that the Chinese firm could be forced to hand over data of its approximate 170 million US users to the state.

So we now find ourselves in what could be the demise of TikTok in the US, and with it being by far the most popular app among teens and young adults in the nation, there will be people doing everything they can to find a workaround so they can continue to enjoy the app.

TikTok is just days away from its impending ban in the US (Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Although, the ban won’t mean that the app mysteriously vanishes from your phone, but as I mentioned earlier it will be frozen out.

With so much speculation over what will happen, business litigator Neil Elan, of Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, has weighed in on the subject.

Risks of accessing TikTok illegally

Elan, who specializes in high-value intellectual property disputes, told Dexerto: If there is a law saying, ‘You can’t do this,’ and you do this by using a VPN to circumvent the law, then you are in violation of the law.

“There would be a penalty and punishment, likely fines. I wouldn’t recommend using a VPN to get around the law, although I do know that it is common. Whether the lawmakers turn a blind eye or whether it’s strictly enforced is a risk that the user will take.”

Yes, we may just have to say fair well to TikTok in the States (Getty stock)

He continued: “The main concern is national security. If a few people do it, then are large troves of US consumer data being accessed by the Chinese government? Unlikely. But if there’s a growing base that continues to use it with the VPN, and the government knows about it, and those concerns still bloom, then there could be penalties enforced.

“How this plays out remains to be seen. It depends on the law. It depends on whether it will be acquired, and it depends on who has the authority to enforce the law and how many users try to skirt the law by using a VPN, but certainly the use of a VPN to circumvent the law would potentially render the user to fines and penalties.”

So, what will happen to the TikTok app on your phone if it gets banned?

After January 19, if you’re in the US and haven’t got the app already on your phone it’s unlikely you’ll be able to download it as it’ll be pulled from stores like Google and Apple under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

For those who have the app prior to the ban, it’s expected that it will eventually ‘go dark’ as updates won’t be issued anymore – which will cause it to become buggy and unusable.

MrBeast has revealed he has an ‘offer ready’ to buy TikTok ahead of its proposed ban in the US later this week.

Time is ticking on whether or not TikTok is to survive in the United States as of Sunday (19 January) this week.

The prohibition on the social media platform comes after Congress passed a bipartisan bill in April last year, approved by President Joe Biden, to sell the app to a new owner or it would be shut down.

Federal officials argued the platform presents a ‘national security threat’ to the country due to its supposed links with China.

MrBeast has an offer (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Prime Video)

Officials allege ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, has access to the data of approximately 170 million users in the US, putting that data at risk if China asks the company to hand it over.

The deadline to sell falls on 19 January – just one day before Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as the new president.

Millions of TikTokers have been protesting the ban, arguing that it would devastate the lucrative creator economy that depends on it – and thousands more have been racing to alternative platforms like RedNote, another short-form video app from China.

MrBeast has been apparently meeting with billionaires to discuss buying the platform (TikTok/mrbeast)

Yet, while the deadline is inching nearer with just three days to go, there is hope yet as famous YouTuber, MrBeast said on Twitter this week: “Okay fine, I’ll buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned.”

With more than 340 million subscribers, the 26-year-old star, whose real name is James Stephen ‘Jimmy’ Donaldson, has the most subscribers of any YouTube channel and is the third-most-followed creator on TikTok.

The host of ‘Beast Games’, he is known for staging elaborate challenges and giving away eye-watering sums of money to strangers.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, the YouTuber has a whopping net worth of approximately $1 billion, meaning he has a better chance than most at being able to afford the app, though many people considered his ‘offer’ was a joke.

He apparently has a legal team to help (TikTok/mrbeast)

Hours after his Tweet went viral, he followed up: “Unironically I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, let’s see if we can pull this off.”

Now, a suited and booted MrBeast appears to be taking his proposal seriously as he posted an update to TikTok that he actually has an offer prepared and ready to go.

In the 12-second clip, he said: “Just got out of a meeting with a bunch of billionaires, TikTok, we mean business.”

He didn’t reveal much from there, such as who with billions of dollars could be involved in the apparent rescue mission, but the star did seem to have legal counsel.

Pointing to a man with a briefcase in the video, MrBeast continues: “This is my lawyer right here. We have an offer ready for you. We wanna buy the platform.”

Meanwhile, a slideshow from the meeting was still visible in the background, which also read: “How we buy TikTok.”

The potential problem MrBeast could come up against is if ByteDance doesn’t want to sell or won’t agree to any such sale whatsoever.

But the YouTuber pleaded: “America deserves TikTok. Give me a seat at the table.

“Let me save this platform, TikTok.”

He also captioned the video: “TikTok check your inbox.”

His followers were quick to celebrate the development on TikTok, writing: “Save us all MrBeast,” and calling him ‘the GOAT’.

TikTok’s fate remains just a little bit more uncertain as President Biden makes his stance on the popular Chinese app clear.

People on social media have been up in arms about the incoming ban of TikTok in the coming days.

In case you missed the details of the long-drawn-out debate surrounding the Chinese video-sharing app, the Supreme Court recently ruled that TikTok will no longer be available for download in the States from Sunday 19 January.

Last year in April 2024, Biden signed a bill that gave ByteDance, the Chinese firm that owns TikTok, a chance to sell the app or have it banned in the US.

There’s since been offers to buy TikTok but the Chinese-owned company is yet to budge.

Joe Biden has said he will not enforce the TikTok ban (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The deadline for ByteDance to sell is January 19, a day before Biden leaves the Oval Office.

However, a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Biden’s administration was ultimately going to leave the decision up to Donald Trump, who is set to enter the White House on January 20.

Trump has expressed a desire to keep the social media app available in the US, however, he and his team have not outlined how they will accomplish that.

Interestingly enough, in his first term of President, 2017 to 2021, he sought the ban out. But during his 2024 presidential campaign, he ended up joining the platform and said he would ‘save it’ and credited it with bringing him more youth votes.

Earlier this week, incoming White House national security adviser Mike Waltz told Fox News: “We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark.”

He went on to add that new law allows for an extension preventing it from taking effect ‘as long as a viable deal is on the table.’

Donald Trump has previously praised TikTok for bringing him youth votes(Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

With that being said, some experts have already explained what will happen on January 19 for users of the app.

After the 19th, if you do not already have the app downloaded on your phone, you’ll be unlikely to download it as it will be removed from app stores under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

For those who have the app prior to the ban, it’s expected that it will eventually ‘go dark’.

Timothy Edgar, a professor of cybersecurity at Brown University, told CBS: “They will get a notice that says, ‘This service is not available in your country.’