History Repeating
This isn’t the first time that Microsoft has shown interest in TikTok. Way back in 2020, the Chinese social media platform was firmly in the sights of Donald Trump, who declared his plan to ban it.
The computing giant released a statement in August of that year, saying it was interested in buying it. Satya Nadella, the Microsoft CEO, stated: “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 statement also added that it would make sure that “all private data of TikTok’s American users is transferred to and remains in the United States” if the deal went through.
The acquisition didn’t happen, largely because of national security concerns. The ban, though, pushed ahead under President Biden.
ByteDance now has a 75-day reprieve granted by President Trump, who has now decided he doesn’t hate the platform quite so much anymore, and new deals are being tabled. In fact, Trump is actively trying to encourage a bidding war.
The national security concerns haven’t gone away and these will have to be addressed; however, much money is on the table.
