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.

TikTok users are racing to download a new app, RedNote, ahead of the proposed US TikTok ban.

Time is ticking if one of our favorite social media platforms is to be saved, as the US plans on banning the video app as soon as Sunday (January 19) this week.

In April last year, the US Congress passed a bipartisan bill to prohibit TikTok unless it secures a new owner.

Federal officials argued the platform poses a ‘national security threat’ on an ‘immense depth’ due to its supposed links with China.

The RedNote app has shot to the top spot on the app store (Cheng Xin/Getty Images)

It is feared US users’ data could be being shared unlawfully with the Communist government.

However, TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, refute the allegations and are in the midst of challenging the rule in the Supreme Court by highlighting its First Amendment Rights.

But justices threw out the argument on Friday and appeared to side more favorably with the US government.

Justice Elena Kagan said the law is only targeted at the foreign corporation, ‘which doesn’t have First Amendment rights’, while Chief Justice John Roberts added: “They’re not saying TikTok has to stop. They’re saying the Chinese have to stop controlling TikTok’, reports The Independent.”

President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office in a matter of days on January 20, tried to ban TikTok in 2020, but has since sought to delay it.

Content creators argue banning TikTok could jeopardize their financial security (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Creators, businesses, influencers, and other users of the app have argued that the ban would decimate the lucrative creator economy that depends on it.

But frantic with worry about a TikTok-less future, thousands of US users have stumbled across what could be suitable alternatives if, or rather when, the dreaded dawn comes.

A free Chinese short-form video app called Xiaohongshu, or RedNote in English, has shot to the top of the Apple App store as of Monday, followed by Lemon8, also owned by TikTok and ByteDance, as users look to migrate across.

The app functions as a cross between Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest, and has more than 300 million monthly active users, according to The Independent, which still falls below the figures seen on TikTok.

RedNote, based in Shanghai, was founded in 2013 and was valued at $17 billion after raising funds from Chinese investors, with now more than $900 million raised in funding and 2,000 employees, reports CNBC.

The app could be banned as soon as Sunday in the US (Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

And many TikTokers appear to be a fan of the alternative already.

One Georgian TikToker who goes by the username allieusyaps said: “They’re trying to ban TikTok and that’s ok”, before explaining to his 200,000 followers that ‘we on that RedNote baby’.

“Look, I might not have a job in the next week”, he continued, “but we about to learn Mandarin baby!

“RedNote is already lit. I ain’t never s*** like that. The content they got over there is really different.

“So yeah, the great migration is here.”

Another TikToker, itsjustheavita, said the alternative could be even better for influencers as ‘Chinese brands have more money than American brands’.

“Let’s get our bag y’all. To the Red Note app it is. Goodbye”, she added.

The deadline for TikTok being potentially banned in the US is looming.

Last year, President Joe Biden warned that the popular video-sharing platform could be banned in the country amid concerns over ByteDance, the Chinese firm that owns TikTok.

Biden then signed a bill in April 2024 that gave ByteDance 270 days 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.

The deadline for ByteDance to sell is January 19 – just a matter of days away.

As the date gets closer, many have been left with questions about what’s next for the app if a sale fails to go through.

With this in mind, tech experts have weighed in on the matter and shared their predictions for TikTok’s future.

TikTok could be banned in the US by the end of the month (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

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’.

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.’

“That’s most likely what will happen based on what we’ve seen in other countries that have banned certain platforms.

“This generation may be in for a very rude awakening if the law goes into effect and they find a major social media platform that they came to rely on as creators, or just users, is suddenly not available.”

It seems unlikely that ByteDance will sell up (Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Qi Liao, a professor of computer and network security at Central Michigan University, also weighed in and suggested that TikTok would eventually become ‘obsolete’ because, even if you can still access the app, you won’t be able to download any updates.

“Various issues could arise because TikTok may introduce new features or security patches, and the app in the US will have a sluggish performance as well as security issues. So eventually TikTok users will probably stop using the vulnerable version,” Liao added.

Will I be able to access TikTok through a VPN?

Some might be tempted to download a VPN (virtual private network) to still be able to access TikTok, but Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has said doing this comes with its risks as ‘a lot of free VPNs make money by selling user data’.

“I would advise people to be very careful about the VPN they choose,” she added.

As the ban continues to loom, TikTok users have been rushing to a new app, RedNote; another short-form video app also from China.

When you think of YouTube, a lot of people’s attentions immediately turn to MrBeast. The two really do go hand in hand.

Whether he’s making fans think of him as a real-life Jigsaw or breaking internet records, MrBeast is always making headlines.

Now, the YouTuber – whose real name is real name Jimmy Donaldson – has shattered his daily subscriber record.

In fact, MrBeast’s channel has surpassed T-Series to become the most subscribed channel on YouTube.

MrBeast produces huge numbers. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

The content creator surpassed the Indian record label on Saturday (1 June), with the man himself revealing a personal record that was also broken on that day.

Taking to X, MrBeast revealed he gained the most subscribers he’s ever had in a single day, as he also broke the YouTube record.

Sharing a screenshot of his stats, MrBeast gained a whopping 2.1 million subscribers in just a 24-hours period.

“Yesterday was the most subscribers we’ve ever gotten in a day,” the YouTuber wrote.

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Typically, the 26-year-old averages 250,000 new subscribers every single day.

While MrBeast hasn’t broken the record for most subscribers gained in a single day on YouTube, he does lay claim to several records.

For example, Donaldson holds the record for the most subscribers gained in a week, month and year.

And with the money MrBeast splashes on each video, it’s a good job he’s on top of the YouTube tree.

Speaking at a podcast event with the All-In Podcast, he confirmed that each video costs around the same as making an independent film.

When asked what the budget was for each video, MrBeast replied: “I think now it is around $2.5 million each video.”

“I don’t think it’s that crazy though,” he continued.

“Because then they’re getting a hundred million views in seven days.

“So, in any other media, outside of social media, that got that kind of viewership their budget would be like 50 times that.”

The YouTuber has gained a lot of subscribers recently. (Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)

Certainly a lot of dollar, but the content creator definitely reaps the rewards.

He explained that he brings in about $600 million to $700 million a year but despite this massive amount, still doesn’t consider himself rich.

“I mean, not right now,” he said.

“I’m not naive; maybe one day.

“Each video does a couple million in ad revenue, a couple million in brand deals.”

He added: “I’ve reinvested everything to the point of—you could claim—stupidity, just believing that we would succeed. And it’s worked out.”