OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely has made a last-minute bid to acquire TikTok’s US operations from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, through his social media startup, Zoop.
Zoop, cofounded by Stokely and CEO RJ Phillips, along with cryptocurrency company The Hbar Foundation, submitted the “intent to bid.” Zoop characterizes the bid as “a David vs. Goliath moment,” advocating for a “creator-first revolution” via improved revenue sharing, according to a company statement to WIRED.
ByteDance faces an April 5 deadline to agree to a US buyer’s proposal to avoid a US ban under a law citing national security concerns that took effect in January.
“The process is actually very unique; it’s being run by the White House and not by ByteDance,” Phillips told WIRED, while declining further comment on the bid’s origins; he added that Zoop’s external council initiated conversations with the right person.
On Wednesday, Donald Trump was expected to consider offers during an Oval Office meeting with Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, who are leading the sale; according to The Information, Trump planned to imminently announce his plan to keep TikTok operating in the US.
US government concerns center on potential Chinese government access to American user data; Hbar’s involvement could be beneficial, since the company’s statement notes that it operates the Hedera network, a “secure, transparent, and enterprise-grade public ledger” blockchain technology based in the US.
Phillips dismissed suggestions that Zoop’s offer was hastily assembled, stating, “We’ve been looking at social for a long time, given our past. We want to restructure the industry in a way that we think is equitable,” adding that creators, who drive viewership, should share the majority of ad revenue, with users also benefiting.
Amazon also submitted a late bid to buy TikTok this week, joining four other groups under White House consideration, Reuters reported; The New York Times reports that the Amazon bid is not being taken seriously. According to the Times, one deal involves US investors, including Larry Ellison’s Oracle and private equity firm Blackstone.
An alternative possibility involves an American investment team purchasing TikTok while ByteDance retains and leases the algorithm to the buyer; exporting the algorithm requires Chinese approval under 2020 restrictions, and China has not indicated willingness to sell it.
Phillips emphasized that tech platforms like TikTok should merely facilitate creators, stating, “Tech platforms for businesses like this should merely be the facilitator for creators. Creators have a hard enough time making steady income. For us it’s always going to focus on creators first, and not on shareholders first.”
