The tech moguls' 'Game of Thrones' | The Business | ABC News

It's being hailed as social media's 'Game of Thrones' with tech titans battling it out for more market power. Analysts expect growing upheaval in the space, as the US TikTok ban plays out and Meta dumps its fact checking partnership in the United States. The disruption has highlighted the global geopolitics of social media, and spurned conversations about the ownership and competition in this highly lucrative tech sector. Wedbush Securities managing director Dan Ives says "TikTok is really a chip on the poker table that's playing out between the US and China". The latest speculation is that TikTok could be forced into a joint venture in the US, with President Trump commenting that its owner ByteDance can have "an asset that has no value or a trillion dollar value". Among those said to be interested in buying the social media app's US operations is billionaire Frank McCourt and celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary. Microsoft is also in talks to acquire TikTok, according to President Trump, who says he'd also be open to Oracle chairman Larry Ellison or X (formerly Twitter) and Tesla owner Elon Musk snapping it up. While the battle could end well for savvy tech investors - as the so-called 'Magificent Seven' continue to soar in value - critics say rumblings about bans and divestment are just a political distraction. Leading economist Yanis Varoufakis is calling for regulation of social media giant to allow content creators to ditch and switch platforms without losing followers. He told ABC News "that would reduce the switching costs and would deal a major blow to the exorbitant power of platform owners". TikTok, Meta, X, Microsoft, and Google were all approached for comment, with a spokesperson for Meta defending competition in the sector and saying "consumers have lots of choice and can and do move freely between these free apps". Emilia Terzon also spoke to TikTok content maker Fidan Shevket and influencer manager Taylor Reilly for this story.
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