US President Donald Trump announced that Microsoft is involved in talks to buy TikTok. Trump told reporters that there will be a ‘bidding war’ for TikTok’s US operations.
Are TikTok operations eventually sold to Microsoft?
The latest statement by Trump came after TikTok forced its Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell its US operations on national security grounds. Last week, Trump signed an executive order delaying the TikTok ban to be implemented by the Biden administration.
In response to the question of whether Microsoft is preparing an offer for TikTok, the President said, ‘I would say yes.’ The President added that many companies have shown great interest in TikTok.
Microsoft previously met with ByteDance in 2020 and signalled that it could buy social media. However, Microsoft CEO said that this acquisition would be ‘the strangest thing’ for the company. TikTok then chose Oracle as a partner, but the deal did not materialise.
Trump’s effort to launch a bidding war for TikTok’s US operations mirrors the story of the app’s Chinese ownership versus data privacy concerns. Both Trump and the Biden administration think the Chinese government could use the app to collect data on American citizens.
The sale of TikTok’s US operations has attracted the interest of various people, including Frank McCourt, investor Kevin O’Leary, and even the world’s biggest YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast).
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