In what could be a major twist, Microsoft is not the only company that wants to put money on China’s ByteDance-owned popular video app TikTok. According to some fresh reports, social media firm Twitter is also eyeing a potential tie-up with TikTok.
Last week, US President signed an executive order against TikTok. As a result, the app now has a strict deadline as well as a directive to follow to survive in its second-largest market after India. As per the executive order, ByteDace can either sell off TikTok to an American company or give up entirely on its US operations.
Twitter wants to join hands with TikTok
Aiming to express an interest in TikTok’s US operations, Twitter has reached out to the app’s Chinese parent ByteDance to discuss a potential tie-up, reports WSJ.
However, Twitter’s strong desire to explore a potential merger with TikTok is unlikely to bring any favorable outcome for Jack Dorsey-led company. It seems that Twitter is not on very good terms with the US President. Recently, Twitter temporarily restricted the US President’s ability to tweet about Covid-19.
In May, the US President signed an executive order to limit the broad legal protections enjoyed by social media companies like Twitter and Facebook, within days after Twitter tagged some of the President’s tweets with a fact-checking warning. Hence, we can safely assume Twitter is unlikely to receive the administration’s support or clearance on any such deal at this point.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has been working out the TikTok deal in synergy with the Trump administration. Recently, Microsoft promised to close the deal with TikTok before September 15, 2020, after consulting the President.
Earlier this month, Microsoft officially acknowledged its interest in purchasing TikTok’s US operations following a meeting between the US President and CEO Satya Nadella.
TikTok shocked over the executive order
Meanwhile, TikTok has responded to the US administration’s executive order:
“We are shocked by the recent Executive Order, which was issued without any due process. For nearly a year, we have sought to engage with the US government in good faith to provide a constructive solution to the concerns that have been expressed. What we encountered instead was that the Administration paid no attention to facts, dictated terms of an agreement without going through standard legal processes, and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses.”
TikTok has also threatened legal action against the US administration’s decision to ban the app over national security concerns.
