The CEO of video streaming service Rumble issued an offer to partner with social media platform TikTok prior to Congress moving forward with legislation that could ban the massively popular application.
Chris Pavlovski, Rumble’s CEO, issued a statement on Rumble’s social media channels, announcing that Rumble, a platform considered to be a more conservative, free speech oriented alternative to YouTube, would be willing to join “a consortium” of other parties to acquire and operate TikTok in the U.S.
This, however, would be dependent on Congress’s actions in the coming days. If legislation concerning TikTok were to pass, the app would be required to divest completely from its China-based parent company, ByteDance, or be banned in the United States.
In order to partner with Rumble and others, TikTok would need to choose to divest from ByteDance.
“We are ready to serve as a cloud technology partner,” read the statement from Pavlovski, directed to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. “Yesterday, Rumble announced the public launch of the Rumble Cloud, a new infrastructure as a service offering that champions the free and open internet. All data on the Rumble Cloud is stored safely and securely at sites inside of the United States on Rumble’s own neutral and independent infrastructure.”
An offer for TikTok from our CEO @chrispavlovski pic.twitter.com/lIeZ6IXANU
— Rumble 🏴☠️ (@rumblevideo) March 12, 2024
Pavlovski added that the offer would be subject to negotiations “of a definitive agreement.”
Congress appears to be moving forward with legislation, and an official decision is expected in the coming days. President Biden has also signaled that he would be willing to sign such legislation.
This has prompted several parties to express interest in purchasing or aiding in a purchase of the platform. These include Pavlovski, Billionaire Shark Tank co-host Kevin O’Leary, and former CEO of Activision-Blizzard Bobby Kotick, according to reports.
Rumble has begun gaining traction in the market of long-form video platforms, which has been dominated by YouTube for over a decade. Rumble saw huge success earlier this year after they reached a partnership deal with Barstool Sports, one of the nation’s most popular sports, lifestyle, and entertainment brands.
