"TikTok should be American owned" - Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian backs US House passing bill against "strategic threat" of Chinese owner

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian recently voiced his belief that TikTok should be owned by Americans. His remarks came after the US House of Representatives passed a bill against the Chinese owner of the short video application, ByteDance, on March 13.

The bill, which received strong bipartisan support with a 352-65 vote, stipulates that TikTok, currently used by 170 million Americans, could face a ban in the country if it doesn't sever ties with ByteDance.

However, for the bill to become law, it still needs to pass through the Senate and be signed by the president. If that happens, the social media platform would have about five months to separate from its Chinese parent company.

Ohanian, the co-founder and former executive chairman of Reddit, shared a video on Instagram where he admitted feeling validated by the US House's decision. He believes America is under a "strategic threat" from China.

"It is a little validating for me because I have been advocating for something to happen for the last three or four years," Ohanian said.

"It's a strategic threat to the United States, but more pragmatically, no American social media companies are allowed to operate in China. So, as a matter of reciprocity, why are we letting a Chinese owned social media company operate in America? Very simple, very straightforward," he added.

The 40-year-old also said that he doesn't advocate for banning TikTok; rather, he thinks it should be owned by Americans.

"I don't think it should be banned, I think it should be sold. Who knows, maybe Walmart ends up buying it...Amazon... I don't know," Alexis Ohanian said.

"I know A&E trust has come up a lot recently for some pretty silly M&A like Facebook trying to buy Giphy. But, there are plenty of folks who are very interested in buying TikTok who are not already part of the social media tech elite, who would be great candidates. I hope that's the outcome we get because it should be American owned," he added.

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Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian reacts to their elder daughter Olympia taking care of her sister Adira

Serena Williams pictured with her husband and elder daughter Olympia

Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian tied the knot in November 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana and welcomed their first child, Olympia Ohanian Jr., that same year. Their second daughter, Adira River Ohanian, was born in August 2023.

On Wednesday, Williams shared an adorable photo on her Instagram account featuring Olympia taking care of her baby sister.

"Big sister hard at work with baby sis @olympiaohanian @adiraohanian," the 23-time Grand Slam champion wrote in the caption.

The post received love from many worldwide, including Ohanian, who quickly jumped in and commented:

"Name a more iconic duo. I'll wait."