Controversial former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick may purchase TikTok with assist from Sam Altman
In short: It is honest to say that former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will not be a really well-liked particular person. He is additionally reportedly all for shopping for TikTok, with assist from OpenAI boss Sam Altman and others, ought to the US authorities drive ByteDance, its proprietor, to divest the app.
Final week, a gaggle of lawmakers announced a invoice that might drive ByteDance to divest TikTok inside about six months ought to it cross. In any other case, the app will probably be blocked from app shops and internet hosting platforms within the US.
In response, TikTok despatched messages to customers encouraging them to foyer their representatives. President Biden additionally gave his backing to the invoice, saying that “in the event that they cross it, I will signal it.”
In accordance with a report from The Wall Road Journal, one particular person all for buying TikTok is Bobby Kotick. He talked about the concept of partnering on such a take care of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and others who have been seated with him throughout a dinner at an Allen & Co. convention final week.
Bobby Kotick spent 33 years as CEO of Activision, throughout which period he confronted loads of controversy. His departure from the corporate in December following Microsoft’s acquisition was met with celebrations from players and builders. There have been tales of his interference with the event of Activision video games through the years and his position in killing off Blizzard titles in China.
Kotick was additionally accused of leaving a voicemail threatening to kill an assistant in 2006 and was the topic of a flight attendant’s sexual harassment lawsuit in 2007. He confronted allegations of incidents involving rape and harassment stretching from the mid-2010s via 2021, and Kotick and Activision needed to pay a $35 million settlement final yr after failing to take care of ample controls to report and handle misconduct inside the firm. Activision Blizzard additionally paid $54 million in 2021 to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit in California.
The alleged $15 million golden parachute Kotick obtained upon leaving Activision did little to endear him to the general public, too.
Kotick’s plan to purchase TikTok is perhaps extra than simply discuss; he is stated to have introduced it up with ByteDance Government Chair Zhang Yiming. TikTok was discovered to be the fastest-growing social media platform within the US in January, with an estimated 150 million customers within the US – greater than every other nation – so its price ticket may attain effectively above $100 billion, which is why Kotick would wish loads of monetary assist from the likes of Altman, who may determine to make use of its content material to coach his firm’s AI fashions.
ByteDance’s alleged ties with Beijing, which it has repeatedly denied, have led to TikTok being banned by most authorities businesses, not simply within the US but additionally in different international locations.
