Microsoft on Sunday confirmed that U.S. President Trump and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella have discussed Microsoft exploring a purchase of TikTok in the United States from China-owned parent company ByteDance.
The TikTok app allows users to create 15 second videos, soundtracked by music clips. TikTok says the app has 100 million users in the United States.
Following a conversation between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Donald J. Trump, Microsoft is prepared to continue discussions to explore a purchase of TikTok in the United States.
Microsoft fully appreciates the importance of addressing the President’s concerns. It is committed to acquiring TikTok subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury.
Microsoft will move quickly to pursue discussions with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, in a matter of weeks, and in any event completing these discussions no later than September 15, 2020. During this process, Microsoft looks forward to continuing dialogue with the United States Government, including with the President.
The discussions with ByteDance will build upon a notification made by Microsoft and ByteDance to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The two companies have provided notice of their intent to explore a preliminary proposal that would involve a purchase of the TikTok service in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and would result in Microsoft owning and operating TikTok in these markets. Microsoft may invite other American investors to participate on a minority basis in this purchase.This new structure would build on the experience TikTok users currently love, while adding world-class security, privacy, and digital safety protections. The operating model for the service would be built to ensure transparency to users as well as appropriate security oversight by governments in these countries.
Among other measures, Microsoft would ensure that all private data of TikTok’s American users is transferred to and remains in the United States. To the extent that any such data is currently stored or backed-up outside the United States, Microsoft would ensure that this data is deleted from servers outside the country after it is transferred.
Microsoft appreciates the U.S. Government’s and President Trump’s personal involvement as it continues to develop strong security protections for the country.
These discussions are preliminary and there can be no assurance that a transaction which involves Microsoft will proceed. We do not intend to provide further updates until there is a definitive outcome to our discussions.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote on Saturday, regarding Trump’s vow to ban Chinese-owned TikTok from the U.S.: This is a negotiating tactic designed to get ByteDance to sell TikTok outright, with no strings attached and no data transfer, to a U.S.-based company if they want to continue to operate in the U.S.
Why would MS want to own that cesspool?
More popular than you are?
Cesspool? lol Clearly you’ve become an old fart, TM. Kids age 10-19 LOVE this app. They are creative on it—they dance, they sing, they make jokes, they make friends. It is central to their experience. Therefore, it’s highly valuable.
Microsoft would instantly gain cred with this group by its purchase, which would be big for them since these kids eat and drink Apple all day long. Also the data for MS would be huge. Also it would instantly put Microsoft in the lead for keeping these kids eyes for the next 10-15 years.
Because kids 10-19 want nothing to do with Facebook (though they do use Instagram).
If you’re worried about Communists owning our children’s faces, you’ve bought into Trump’s misinformation. He’s ticked that the Tik Tok kids destroyed his Tulsa rally, so he’s trying to get back at them. It’s funny, actually, how the child is striking out at children.
I suspect TM was an old fart in college…
What could be sinister about CCP china harvesting the biometric data (face, eyes, voice, video) from an app where about 35 percent of the users are under 18. Its not like CCP china is the world leader building
LOOK HERE HIGO, Trump time traveled before the Tulsa rally and added all the APIs to cover his tracks…. And he stopped off at india and had them ban TikTok and WeChat…
also consider most of TikTok installs are on android phones so no need to worry about their security either.
coming to usa
Of course we shouldn’t worry about harvesting info and building a personal citizens portfolio that could be used to influence, encourage, or blacklist you. Surly the CCP would not misuse the data.
Besides as long as the kids “LOVE this app. They are creative on it—they dance, they sing, they make jokes, they make friends.” then giving up a little freedom is a small price to pay… let the kids have cake
but of course all my sources are right wing news sites controlled by the trump administration.
BBC — this one is scary
Anybody else bothered by the promise of “appropriate security oversight by government agencies?” It sounds like TikTok users will be trading the possibility that a foreign government might have access to their data for the certainty that the US Government will.
Big Brother has spoken!!
TikTok info most likely used by China, no big deal.
POSSIBLE TikTok info used by US, Orange Man Bad.
You have been instructed to take the blue pill today.
It may lead to Redness and swelling of Chinese info,
Simply ignore these side affects….
I didn’t say that allowing access by China to personal data was a good thing, assuming that TikTok has actually passed the data of American kids doing funny dances and cat tricks to the Chinese Communist Party. So far, that is alleged but not proven. Still, not good.
I was saying that allowing Donald Trump’s personal law firm, which is what the Department of Justice has become under Bill Barr, access to data concerning political dissenters (like the organizers of the Tulsa ticket hack) is NOT a good thing.
Big Brother is watching you.
Pay no attention to that yellow man behind the iron curtain pulling his strings.
The Great Cause has spoken!
Unless they move the servers out of CCP China this is meaningless. Can Microsoft(big tech) be trusted? If anything this could only strengthen the relationship between Microsoft and the CCP. Who is advising the president on this move? We know both Trump and Biden are kind of clueless on the subtleties of technology so everything is really based what info the advisors bring to the table.
Example: look at our response to Covid. Seems now the biggest mistake was not requiring mask much sooner. Biden says trump didn’t listen to the science. Biden says “when I’m president i will put Fauci in charge. So if Biden would have been president he would have done what trump did.
March 8,2020
60 min Fauci “right now people in the unites states should not be walking around wearing mask”
Reporter; “your sure of it because people are listening closer to this” Again Fauci Says “ Right now people should not be wearing a mask, there is no reason to be walking around with a mask’ when your in the middle of an outbreak walking around wearing a mask might make people feel a little better” he then actual says mask can have unintended consequences and make things worse…
This is who Biden is putting in charge. Same shit different party.
Now when Fauci is asked about this he says.. well we knew mask where important but we needed to keep all the mask for essential medical personal … again he lies, he is evil or he’s dumb. So fauci if you knew mask could save millions of people you should have sounded the alarm, the president/USA industry ramped up ventilator production through the roof. Now we have stock piles of ventilators that aren’t needed. Do you not think we could have done the same with mask, I’m betting it’s easy to make a 5 cent mask then a 10,000 ventilator … but you and the WHO downplayed mask … meanwhile China was repatriating mask stock piles sent to other countries while they the directed the WHO and mouth piece fauci to play down the importance of mask.
No Facui you withheld the need for mask and you misguided the president. Now trump is stubborn and naive; once his team (Fauci, CDC, WHO) told him no human to human transmission and no need for mask, but we need lots of ventilators and vaccine then Trump built his whole response based on that false info. Trump sucks at backing down and changing plans. But then again he has been constantly attacked since before he took office, so being hyper defensive is not unexpected ..
but my point is the success of a President is totally based on his advisors. In terms to the greatest concern now (covid) Biden as president would be the same as trump. But Biden will give no push back because Of his failing mental health,… again Biden has said he will listen too and follow Fauci
And for the record Taiwan tried to warn the world in December about a dangerous virus that spreads from human to human. But the WHO, controlled by the CCP, censored Taiwan and gave false information to the CDC.
https://time.com/5826025/taiwan-who-trump-coronavirus-covid19/
Look how Taiwan responded with a population density 3 times of New York City, schools open last spring, business stayed open 475 covid cases, 7 deaths, while 81 miles from the coast of China, millions of people travel back and forth from China to Taiwan but they stopped all travel from China. Taiwan started requiring mask in early January and tried to warn the rest of the world … but because the CCP is butt hurt by Taiwan and hell bent on invasion of Taiwan the WHO, controlled by the CCP, ignored Taiwan’s warning and lied for China
This was in late feb just before things started to heat up
Look at how Taiwan responded … again they tried to warn us … only closed school for 2 weeks
My point It looks like trump is getting bad advice again.
3include,
I appreciated your comments and videos; you have correctly described actual events related to the early days of the Covid. The president is dependent upon expert advisors as you pointed out and they repeatedly shifted their stances and recommendations. How can anyone formulate useful policies and steer resources properly with such swings by the major disease agencies and MDs?
I believe President Trump sincerely did his best to guide the public and was misguided and/or betrayed by them because they are government grifters and academics who want him to fail so they can continue to benefit from big federal government largess at our expense.
So, the academic community (public health, environmental, and climate scientists, among others).are trying deliberately to contradict, mislead and embarrass the guy who runs the federal government in order to get more federal money?
“Microsoft appreciates the U.S. Government’s and President Trump’s personal involvement as it continues to develop strong security protections for the country.”
Thank you tireless President Trump for working with tech giant Microsoft and fingers crossed a positive outcome will result…
If MS does buy TikTok, I’m deleting it! Whatever Microsucks touches turns to crap and eventually dies. Zune… Nokia… screw you, Microsoft!
Obviously the president has a bone to pick with TikTok (or so he believes) after the disastrous Tulsa rally. This is clearly all about punishing TikTok for a perceived slight. That’s how Mr. Trump rolls.
Tony’s aroma is affecting his thinking. Extrapolate wild much?
I agree with Shees; Tony, Take the freakin’ blinders off! You’ve been the victim of a crappy Marxist public educational system and too many PBS and CNN “journalists” opinions. They want an all powerful central government at the expense of the freedoms of the citizenry. Don’t you get it?
Pull your head out and study the history of the past 100 years for f**ck’s sake. Your drivel has become more than merely tedious.
Chinese made social media app NOT acceptable.
Chinese made ingredients for many U.S. medications acceptable.
Groucho Marx quote:
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.”
.
Ballmer was born for Tik Tok!
Cmon somebody, post that vid!
He’s been doing laundry ever since he left…those sweat stains are a bitch.
Exactly, maybe one step up but not exactly my idea of freedom especially as Chinese and Russian tactics and behaviour seems to be moving and rapidly infiltrating political thinking further west and meanwhile the very threat of that very real digital misbehaviour from those eastern origins against the West is being used as an excuse for introducing it here as some form of Cold War nuclear deterent equivalence. Not optimistic about the future especially putting this in the hands of Microsoft with that political overseeing aspect thrown in casually especially for those of us seen as expendable cannon fodder outside of US borders.
That was the point I was trying to make above.