Microsoft’s Plan to Buy Tik Tok Gives American Users a Glimmer of Hope
Microsoft has given millions of Tik Tok users in America a glimmer of hope after making it known that the company will pursue a deal to buy the social media app from ByteDance. The move was spawned by Trump’s Executive Order for Chinese companies ByteDance and Tencent to stop running their social apps, Tik Tok and WeChat respectively, after September 15, 2020.
While Donald Trump may be happy in getting his revenge versus the Tik Tok teenagers who tanked his Tulsa rally back in June, 2020, he has all the more antagonized the young generation of voters and future voters.
After all, Tik Tok is a social media app that Trump will find difficult to use, for posting his rants against those who oppose him and in spreading misinformation to cover up his incompetencies as a national leader. Yet Tik Tok has proven to be a powerful tool in mobilizing movements against his bid for re-election.
The Latest Developments on Microsoft’s Move to Buy Tik Tok
Thankfully Microsoft, the tech company founded by Bill Gates 40 years ago, has stepped in and is currently negotiating with Byte Dance officials regarding the acquisition terms. The initial news is that Tik Tok will command a price ranging between $10 billion and $30 billion, but only for the platform’s coverage in four countries. Aside from the U.S. and Canada, a Microsoft-run Tik Tok will include Australia and New Zealand.
This denotes that Tik Tok users in these countries will no longer be able to follow their favorite K-pop artist at Tik Tok. In the same way, the top Tik Tok users who have gained millions of fans from across the globe will likewise lose millions of Tik Tok followers.
Still the latest report is that Microsoft is aiming to buy Tik Tok’s entire operations including Douyin, the Chinese version of the Tik Tok app. According to reports from the Financial Times, a source said that splitting the app and segregating operations in the ByteDance platform will take long to accomplish; while Microsoft has to quickly address the security issues that the U.S. government cites as reasons for banning the use of Tik Tok in America.
Apparently, Microsoft has to immediately secure and transfer to the U.S. all private information pertaining to American users. Any back-up data stored outside of the U.S. will be deleted from all external servers after completion of the transfers.