Microsoft Could End up Owning TikTok
Posted on 08/03/2020
Microsoft Corporation confirmed that it has held discussions with ByteDance (the owner of social media app TikTok) about buying TikTok. Talks are expected to conclude by September 15, 2020. U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to give ByteDance 45 days to ink a deal with Microsoft to takeover TikTok. Microsoft gave assurances that TikTok user data in the U.S. would stay in the U.S. and the data stored in other jurisdictions would be removed. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke to President Trump about the possible acquisition. Microsoft also owns the business/job social network LinkedIn.
Social media giant Facebook is watching the deal with envy. Facebook in 2020 signaled it would close down its TikTok clone service Lasso. Facebook is now launching Reels, another service that is linked to Instagram.
The U.S. government is looking at other apps besides TikTok. The U.S. government is also concerned about Tencent Holdings Limited’s WeChat app.
