Microsoft to continue discussions on potential TikTok purchase in the US
blogs.microsoft.com
Microsoft to continue discussions on potential TikTok purchase in the US
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Re: Microsoft to continue discussions on potential TikTok purchase in the US
#2> 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).
For me, this was the first time I've actually had to do a lot of thinking about CFIUS and its implications. I definitely didn't understand the scale and impact of CFIUS before, but now I'm at least aware of the power. I'm undecided as to whether or not this is an appropriate power for the president to have, but I think I'm much more relieved to understand the mechanism by which the "TikTok ban" is being implemented than the very nebulous term "ban."
The reality is that this is the type of thing that can affect each and every one of us in a new set of unexpected ways. Lawfare's explanation was particularly shocking to me:
> TikTok (then called “music.ly”) was bought by ByteDance in 2018 for nearly $1 billion. Of course, music.ly like ByteDance was a Chinese company. So you might think that CFIUS would have no say over that acquisition. But you’d be wrong. For purposes of CFIUS review, a covered “U.S. business” is any entity that engages in interstate commerce in the United States—even if that entity is a foreign corporation. [0]
In other words, I'm at least thankful that I now know that the US has a legal framework for this set of actions -- even if they're a bit shocking in the first place.
[0]: https://www.lawfareblog.com/tiktok-and-law-primer-case-you-n...
Re: Microsoft to continue discussions on potential TikTok purchase in the US
#3Seems like a huge win for Microsoft to be able to buy the hottest social media service at a fire sale price. Will other bidders be allowed?
Re: Microsoft to continue discussions on potential TikTok purchase in the US
#4Seems like a huge win for Microsoft to be able to buy the hottest social media service at a fire sale price. Will other bidders be allowed?
Other companies are also in talks, but Microsoft is the furthest along/having the best chance.
Re: Microsoft to continue discussions on potential TikTok purchase in the US
#5Seems like a huge win for Microsoft to be able to buy the hottest social media service at a fire sale price. Will other bidders be allowed?
Other companies are also in talks, but Microsoft is the furthest along/having the best chance.
More to the point, Microsoft is the company least involved in social media that has the largest warchest. No way Congress or the administration would condone any of the companies whose CEOs testified on Capitol Hill this week buying TikTok.
Re: Microsoft to continue discussions on potential TikTok purchase in the US
#6Seems like a huge win for Microsoft to be able to buy the hottest social media service at a fire sale price. Will other bidders be allowed?
Other companies are also in talks, but Microsoft is the furthest along/having the best chance.
Almost every kid at my daughter's elementary school has TikTok installed and they are all under 13. If you have an Android phone, they do basically no verification to register and then if you go to your Google Account you can see that they share your email and personal data with TikTok. This is a major COPPA violation. Does this mean Microsoft may soon be the biggest violator of COPPA in the US?
Re: Microsoft to continue discussions on potential TikTok purchase in the US
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
Other companies are also in talks, but Microsoft is the furthest along/having the best chance.
More to the point, Microsoft is the company least involved in social media that has the largest warchest. No way Congress or the administration would condone any of the companies whose CEOs testified on Capitol Hill this week buying TikTok.
Amazon and Apple don't really have a social media presence either.
Re: Microsoft to continue discussions on potential TikTok purchase in the US
#8Why didn't Microsoft buy Vine when Twitter was struggling a few years ago?
Re: Microsoft to continue discussions on potential TikTok purchase in the US
#9I think the odd thing for me, is this just after Microsoft abruptly shut down Mixer.
Re: Microsoft to continue discussions on potential TikTok purchase in the US
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Other companies are also in talks, but Microsoft is the furthest along/having the best chance.
More to the point, Microsoft is the company least involved in social media that has the largest warchest. No way Congress or the administration would condone any of the companies whose CEOs testified on Capitol Hill this week buying TikTok.
Technically Microsoft owned 1.6% shares before Facebook's IPO, and last information I could get it had sold 20% of the proceeds post-IPO in 2012, so they are somewhat involved in social media.
[1] https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-offloads-20-percent-...