After weeks of speculation that Microsoft could acquire the US operations of social media platform TikTok from ByteDance, the issue can now be put to bed. In an announcement made by Microsoft via social media, the company confirmed that TikTok rejected Microsoft’s offer. It’s unclear if TikTok continues to pursue the sale of its US operations or if it’s now going to test how far US President Donald Trump is willing to take his promise to ban the company in the country.
In its statement, Microsoft focused on the political aspects of the acquisition. “Our proposal would have been good for TikTok users, while protecting national security interests,” insisted Microsoft, going on to describe how it would have made “significant changes” to the social media platform so as to meet the “highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combatting disinformation.” Microsoft discusses this perhaps out of fear of tensions between ByteDance and the Trump Administration rising in the weeks or months ahead.
Though Microsoft doesn’t appear to be acquiring TikTok, there’s still one other company still known to be pursuing an acquisition. Oracle, the multinational tech corporation, is still in the running. Recent reports even go so far as saying that the negotiations are over, but that instead of an acquisition Oracle will instead form a “trusted tech partnership” with ByteDance to operate TikTok in the US. That deal would explain why Microsoft is able to confirm it won’t be acquiring TikTok.
TikTok is in a challenging position due to the efforts of President Trump. In early August, President Trump threatened to ban TikTok to “hit back” against the Chinese government due to tensions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. It isn’t clear why President Trump chose TikTok as a focus for his reprisal, though TikTok has been associated with protest efforts against the president in the past. President Trump set a deadline of September 20 for ByteDance to sell TikTok before he’d issue the ban.
Initially, TikTok touted its American ties in response to President Trump’s threats. Citing TikTok’s American CEO, its hundreds of US-based jobs, and its ongoing efforts to improve security, ByteDance argued it didn’t deserve to be the subject of reprisal. Companies including Microsoft, Oracle, Walmart, and others nevertheless reached out to ByteDance about a potential acquisition of TikTok and the issue progressed from there.
Surprisingly, reporting in more recent weeks indicated that ByteDance was working with the Trump Administration to avert a sale. It’s possible that the reported arrangement being made with Oracle is one such alternative. With President Trump‘s deadline quickly approaching, a conclusion for TikTok is nearing regardless of the form it takes.
Source: WSJ
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