Banning Over Buying: White House On TikTok

While the short-video making application went through the wringer in the past few months, the recent take of the American President is making TikTok circle the drain all over again. TikTok has a devoted fan base of about 100 million users in America. Let’s dig into the motive behind Banning over Buying: White House on TikTok.

In a recent move of banning the app, Trump said that the US government ought to get a “substantial portion” of sales coming in from operating the app in the US. If no sale happens before or on September 15, the US President has promised to move forward with the ban.

WHY U.S.A CHOSE TO BAN TIKTOK IN THE FIRST PLACE?

For months, Trump and other politicians have raised concerns about TikTok as a potential national cybersecurity threat.

Though the company has vehemently denied these accusations, reports showed a lack of TikTok content about controversial subjects. These include the videos of the Hong Kong protests.

These reports have planted the seeds of suspicion in the minds of US citizens given that the nation shares strained diplomatic relations with the Dragon.

BANNING OVER BUYING: WHITE HOUSE ON TIKTOK

According to a New York Times report, Trump’s advisers convinced him that an executive TikTok ban would lead to grave political consequences. Henceforth, he changed his mind. Instead of issuing a ban, he would allow the tech giant Microsoft to continue its previous talks to buy TikTok. The key idea is that if Microsoft took control, it would ensure all of TikTok’s user data is stored in the US. Above all, the data will be away from the prying eyes of the Dragon.

Microsoft is in talks to buy the U.S. operations of TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned video app that Trump has said he will ban in the U.S. over security concerns, according to a person familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity. https://t.co/F4fBIvNa2w

— The Associated Press (@AP) August 1, 2020

Microsoft had confirmed that the US-based company is considering to overtake the video-sharing app.

“I did say that if you buy it, whatever the price is that goes to whoever owns it because I guess it’s China essentially … I said a very substantial portion of that price is going to have to come into the Treasury of the United States because we’re making it possible for this deal to happen,” Trump said.

Meanwhile, Trump has agreed to give China’s ByteDance 45 days to negotiate a sale of TikTok to Microsoft Corp. However, as of now, there is still no clarity on how the US would receive part of the purchase price.

WHAT IF MICROSOFT BUYS TIKTOK?

If Microsoft or another major US company does purchase TikTok, it won’t leave an indelible impact on the app.

TikTok is a valuable brand in a lucrative industry. Subsequently, for Microsoft buying TikTok would be an opportunity to seriously compete with other tech giants.

In addition, Microsoft has experience when it comes to purchasing already successful companies and allowing them to retain their independence. These include GitHub in 2018 and the video game Minecraft in 2014.

TikTok said, that it is committed to continuing to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create content on our platform as we build TikTok for the long term. TikTok will be here for many years to come.

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