Donald Trump is after the social media outfit….
He has threatened to ban it…
Microsoft is in talks to buy it from it’s Chinese owner…
It IS very popular…
It now has a 45 day breathing period from Trump….
China does NOT allow most American social media companies to operate above board in their country…
There have also been national security concerns about a widespread China owned social media app spread across America online networks…
Joe Biden& Co. have said that he would also seek to deal with China’s extensive access to American markets while excluding America from theirs…
TIKTOK: TO BAN, OR NOT TO BAN? — TikTok struck back over the weekend after President Donald Trump said Friday that he plans to ban the Chinese-owned video app in the U.S. The social platform, which saw its audience multiply during the pandemic, has remained the most downloaded, non-game app in the world this summer, according to data analytics firm SensorTower, with the U.S. accounting for the second-highest volume of downloads.
On Saturday, TikTok users received a message from Vanessa Pappas, the company’s general manager in the U.S. “We’ve heard your outpouring of support, and we want to say thank you; we’re not planning on going anywhere.” Pappas said the startup plans to bring 10,000 jobs to the U.S. in the coming years and touted its safety and security practices. “We’re here for the long run,” she said. “Continue to share your voice here, and let’s stand for TikTok.”
— Microsoft’s weekend whiplash: The American software giant was in talks to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations from Beijing-based parent ByteDance, but those negotiations came to a screeching halt over the weekend after Trump expressed opposition to such a deal, WSJ reported. Microsoft then revealed Sunday that, following a conversation between CEO Satya Nadella and the president, the company is forging ahead with exploratory discussions about a potential purchase.
Microsoft “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,” the company said in a blog post acknowledging Trump’s concerns about the transaction. “These discussions are preliminary and there can be no assurance that a transaction which involves Microsoft will proceed.”
Though It’s unclear how the chips will fall in the coming weeks, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reiterated Sunday that there is consensus across the administration that, because of national security threats posed by the app, changes are in order.
— About said national security concerns: Though apparently motivated by national security concerns, Trump’s move would have an element of reciprocity because U.S. internet companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Hulu, Foursquare and Dropbox are blocked from operating in China. “Approximately 3,000 internet sites are totally blocked from the Chinese marketplace, including many of the most popular websites in the world,” the Internet Association said in a 2019 filing with USTR. “This blocking has cost U.S. services billions of dollars.”….
Update….
The Wall Street Journal
@WSJ
President Trump said he is open to Microsoft or another U.S. company buying TikTok, but wants the government to receive a portion of the sale price
Where are the free marketeers?
Talk about a “burdensome regulation!”
Waiting for Trump to depart…
The company WILL be sold to Microsoft or have to stop doing business in America and Trump wants the US to get a part of money from the deal….
Trump hard push to buy American…
China does NOT allow certain American companies to do business there it should be noted….
…
President Trump on Thursday issued an executive order barring any transactions between U.S. companies and the Chinese parent company of TikTok beginning in 45 days, the latest action in the administration’s campaign against the app.
The order essentially forces the parent company, ByteDance, to divest from TikTok, or face a ban from operating in the United States. The president had previously set a deadline of Sept. 15 for Microsoft or another American company to acquire the viral video app before he moved to ban it from operating in the U.S. …
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