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Steve Mnuchin is angling to partner with an AI firm that can quickly rebuild TikToks algorithm as he looks to orchestrate a blockbuster bid to acquire the China-owned app, The Post has learned.

The former Treasury secretary first revealed last month that he was exploring a bid to buy TikTok after House lawmakers voted to pass a bill requiring its Beijing-based parent ByteDance to divest within six months or face a total US ban.

Now, insiders say Mnuchin is pitching a plan to rebuild TikToks algorithm in the US as the only likely way to satisfy Congressional concerns that the app poses a national security risk, as well as Chinas strict export laws that could block a sale.

The Senate is expected to hold hearings on the House bill later this year, although no vote has yet been scheduled.

Mnuchin believes that any effort to rebuild TikToks sophisticated algorithm would require a partner with access to advanced AI capabilities and expertise, the sources said. Given the size and complexity of the undertaking, the ex-Trump Cabinet member could partner with more than one tech firm, the sources added.

A spokesperson for Mnuchin declined to comment. TikTok did not return a request for comment.

Mnuchin has already said publicly that TikTok would need to be rebuilt in the US after an acquisition, arguing on CNBC that China will be fine selling it so long as theres not a technology transfer along the way.

Multiple experts told The Post that Oracle — the software giant headed by billionaire Trump donor Larry Ellison — is a logical candidate to join his bid. TikTok has already committed to storing the data of US users in servers operated by Oracle as part of “Project Texas,” a plan to satisfy national security and user privacy concerns.

Oracle did not return a request for comment.

When Mnuchin was Treasury secretary, Oracle nearly bought TikTok as part of the Trump administrations effort to force ByteDance to divest. Experts note that an Oracle deal wouldn’t likely to draw as much regulatory scrutiny as a deal with Big Tech firms like Google, Meta and Apple.

Oracle would make sense, given how involved theyve been in the history of this saga, according to Tobin Marcus, a former economic adviser to then-Vice President Biden during the Obama administration.

Microsoft, which is the chief investor in OpenAI, is another logical candidate. The Big Tech giant also came close to buying TikTok in 2020, with CEO Satya Nadella later remarking the aborted bid was the “strangest thing I’ve ever worked on.

Last month, the Washington Post reported that Mnuchin has told potential partners that he was in touch with Oracle as well as former Activision-Blizzard chief Bobby Kotick, who is also reportedly interested in buying the app.

A Kotick representative did not return a request for comment.

The app, which has more than 170 million American users, is sure to carry a hefty price tag. Bloomberg Intelligence estimated that its US business could be worth up to $40 billion, while others have put the price at $100 billion or beyond.  

While some critics have blasted Mnuchin’s plan as far-fetched, rebuilding the algorithm is really the only option given Chinas strict export controls on AI, according to Andrew Grotto, the former senior director for cybersecurity policy under Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

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I dont think its easy, but I also think given the right level of resource expenditure, the skys the limit in some sense, Grotto said. Whether the product is any good or not at least as good as the original underlying algorithm of TikTok, thats a different question. It seems like a minimally viable product is achievable.

Rob Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation think tank and a member of TikToks content and safety advisory council, agreed.

I dont know if its an irreplaceable algorithm, Atkinson said. It seems like with all the AI capabilities today, you could get a really good algorithm that would be maybe not 100% as good, but pretty good and over time would probably evolve to where it is today, if not better. So I dont think that would be the issue.

Rebuilding the app would be just one challenge for Mnuchins bid, which would need to secure approval from both the US and Chinese governments.

The road to the Senate floor is likely to be bumpy, according to Marcus, who views a vote as unlikely before the election. Calls for a ban swelled in March 2023 after TikTok CEO Shou Chews disastrous testimony on Capitol Hill, only to fizzle for more than a year, he noted.

The Senate certainly does not seem eager to just pick up the House bill and ram it through as-is, so theres definitely a possibility to make changes, Marcus said.

On the other side of the Pacific, critics say its a long shot for Mnuchin or any other potential buyer to secure the necessary approval from the Chinese government, which has repeatedly vowed to block any forced sale of TikTok.

One tech executive told The Post last month that a Beijing would see it as a huge besmirchment of their honor and integrity as a sovereign nation if the US government got its way.

Still, the Chinese government might find it difficult to turn down a huge market-value deal for TikToks US operations especially as its President Xi Jinping works overtime to reassure Western business leaders that the country is open for business.

I think theres a path for them signing off on it. I dont think Congress is bluffing, Atkinson said. You would diminish the value of a leading Chinese technology company by a significant amount. I think the Chinese government realizes they would be much better off if ByteDance can get a giant infusion of cash and use it to expand and do other things.

Critics also warn that delaying the sale-or-ban timeline for TikTok ensures that the Chinese Communist Party could use the app to meddle in the presidential election — one of the key reasons that lawmakers have pursued the legislation in the first place.

“The longer it remains under Beijings influence, the more control [Chinese President Xi Jinping] has over the news and information Americans under thirty-five consume and digest,” said Chris Fenton, a trustee at the US-Asia Institute. “Supporting a fair market sale to an American buyer as quickly as possible rewards investors, satisfies users, and protects national security interests.”

As The Post has reported, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is under pressure to hold a vote on the bill, which has drawn bipartisan support even as some lawmakers raise concerns that muzzling TikTok could violate the First Amendment or set a bad precedent on the targeting of specific companies via government legislation.

Senate lawmakers are reportedly debating potential changes to the bill including extending the six-month window or broadening its scope to target social media. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, reportedly wants to hold at least one public hearing before any potential vote.

Indeed, the House bills tight six-month divestment window is viewed as a major obstacle to the plan with 12 to 18 months seen as a more realistic timeline to close a deal that includes rebuilding a working version of the software, the sources added.

Prospective buyers are likely to seek an agreement that would allow TikTok to remain operational using its current software until the new algorithm is ready to be implemented even if that means exceeding the stipulated divestment window.

Cantwell has signaled she is in favr of an extended deadline, telling reporters it “would be a good component to guarantee success.”

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Politics

Why Boris’s best mate is off to Reform

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Why Boris's best mate is off to Reform

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.

Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.

Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?

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US

Donald Trump praises Liberian president’s English – the country’s official language

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Donald Trump praises Liberian president's English - the country's official language

Donald Trump has praised the Liberian president’s command of English – the West African country’s official language.

The US president reacted with visible surprise to Joseph Boakai’s English-speaking skills during a White House meeting with leaders from the region on Wednesday.

After the Liberian president finished his brief remarks, Mr Trump told him he speaks “such good English” and asked: “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?”

Mr Trump seemed surprised when Mr Boakai laughed and responded he learned in Liberia.

The US president said: “It’s beautiful English.

“I have people at this table who can’t speak nearly as well.”

Mr Boakai did not tell Mr Trump that English is the official language of Liberia.

The country was founded in 1822 with the aim of relocating freed African slaves and freeborn black citizens from the US.

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Mr Trump promised the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau a pivot from aid to trade at the surprise meeting.

He described the countries as “all very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, and great oil deposits, and wonderful people”.

Read more from Sky News:
Gaza permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’, says Israeli official
Four dead and ‘many’ kidnapped after Houthi rebels sink ship

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Later asked by a reporter if he’ll visit the continent, Mr Trump said, “At some point, I would like to go to Africa.”

But he added that he’d “have to see what the schedule looks like”.

Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, promised to go to Africa in 2023, but only fulfilled the commitment by visiting Angola in December 2024, just weeks before he left office.

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US

Gaza permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’, says Israeli government

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Gaza permanent ceasefire 'questionable', says Israeli government

The Israeli government believes the chances of achieving a permanent ceasefire in Gaza are “questionable”.

The pessimistic assessment, in a top-level Israeli government briefing given to Sky News, comes as the Israeli Prime Minister prepares to leave Washington DC after a four-day visit which had begun with the expectation of a ceasefire announcement.

Benjamin Netanyahu will leave the US later today with the prospect of even a temporary 60-day ceasefire looking extremely unlikely this week.

Within “a week, two weeks – not a day” is how it was framed in the background briefing late on Wednesday.

Crucially, though, on the chances of the ceasefire lasting beyond 60 days, the framing from the briefing was even less optimistic: “We will begin negotiations on a permanent settlement. But we achieve it? It’s questionable, but Hamas will not be there.”

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Netanyahu arrives in US for ceasefire talks

Sky News has spoken to several Israeli officials at the top level of the government. None will be drawn on any of the details of the negotiations over concerns that public disclosure could jeopardise their chances of success.

But I have been given a very clear understanding of Mr Netanyahu’s thinking.

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The Israeli position is that a permanent ceasefire (beyond the initial 60 days, which itself is yet to be agreed) is only possible if Hamas lays down its arms. “If they don’t, we’ll proceed [with the war],” said a source.

The major sticking point in the talks between Hamas and Israel is the status of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire and beyond, should it last longer.

The latest Israeli proposal, passed to Hamas last week, included a map showing the proposed IDF presence inside Gaza during the ceasefire.

Read more: What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal?

Israeli military vehicles stand near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel.
Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

This was rejected by Hamas and by Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who reportedly told the Israelis that the redeployment map “looks like a Smotrich plan”, a reference to the extreme-right Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.

My briefing of Mr Netanyahu’s position is that he has not shifted in terms of Israel’s central stated war aims. The return of the hostages and eliminating Hamas are the key objectives.

But in a hint of how hard it will be to reconcile the differences, it was clear from my briefing that no permanent ceasefire is possible in the Israeli government’s view without the complete removal of Hamas as a political and military entity.

Hamas is not likely to negotiate its way to oblivion.

On the status of the Israeli military inside Gaza, a senior Israeli official told Sky News: “We would want IDF in every square metre of Gaza, and then hand it over to someone.”

Smoke rises in Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border.
Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

It was clear to me that Mr Netanyahu wants his stated position to be that his government has no territorial ambition for Gaza.

One quote to come from my briefing, which I am only able to attribute to a senior Israeli official, says: “[We] don’t want to govern Gaza… don’t want to govern, but the first thing is, you have to defeat Hamas.”

Another clear indication of Mr Netanyahu’s position – a quote from the briefing, attributable only to a senior Israeli official: “You cannot have victory if you don’t clear out all the fighting forces.

“You have to go into every square inch unless you are not serious about victory. I am. We are going to defeat them. Those who do not disarm will die. Those who disarm will have a life.”

On the future of Gaza, it’s clear from my briefings that Mr Netanyahu continues to rule out the possibility of a two-state solution “for the foreseeable future”.

The Israeli government assessment is that the Palestinians are not going to have a state “as long as they cling to that idea of destroying our state”.

Read more:
UN Special Rapporteur criticises Israel
Why Netanyahu only wants a 60-day ceasefire
Trump applying ‘heavy pressure’ on Netanyahu

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On the most controversial aspect of the Gaza conflict – the movement of the population – the briefing revealed that Mr Netanyahu’s view is that 60% of Palestinians would “choose to leave” but that Israel would allow them to return once Hamas had been eliminated.

“It’s not forcible eviction, it’s not permanent eviction,” a senior Israeli official said.

Critics of Israel’s war in Gaza say that any removal of Palestinians from Gaza, even if given the appearance of being “voluntary”, is in fact anything but, because the strip has been so comprehensively flattened.

Reacting to Israeli Defence Minister Katz’s recent statement revealing a plan to move Palestinians into a “humanitarian city” in southern Gaza, and not let them out of that area, the official wouldn’t be drawn, except to say: “As a permanent arrangement? Of course not.”

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