A group of pro-Trump American investors is putting together a plan to buy the social media app TikTok from its Chinese Communist Party-linked parent company ByteDance.
President Donald Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is spearheading the effort.
The move comes at the same time Congress is considering a new law that would require the social media giant to sever its ties with China’s communist government.
According to CNBC, Mnuchin is in the process of forming an investor group to approach ByteDance.
The investors are planning to put together an offer that would allow the popular video-streaming app to remain available in the U.S.
The cost of buying the company would likely land in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Pitchbook currently values the company at $220 billion.
Speaking about legislation passed by the U.S. House to restrict TikTok’s Chinese ownership, Mnuchin said he favors the move.
He added lawmakers have an obligation to prevent TikTok from being abused by China’s government.
Concerns have been mounting for some time that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses the app to mine and monitor Americans’ personal data.
“I think the legislation should pass and I think it should be sold,” Mnuchin said