DISCUSS: Should the U.S. Government Buy TikTok?

Last updated on: February 21, 2025 at 5:55 am by Gene Veith

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President Trump has signed an Executive Order to establish a Sovereign Wealth Fund.

This is money that governments set aside to invest in particular industries. In a statement about the initiative, President Trump floated the idea that such a fund could be used to purchase TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned video sharing company that lawmakers fear is a security risk, leading to passage of a law requiring that it be sold or banned.

Read this article and perhaps this article from the libertarian Cato Institute criticizing the concept.

I’m interested not only in your opinion about whether or not the federal government should buy TikTok, but in the larger question about whether or not the government should get involved with buying companies or making other investments in the private sector.

Doesn’t that verge on socialism?

So my question is: Should the United States start a sovereign wealth fund to invest money in the private sector, including buying up companies such as TikTok?