Global tech giant Microsoft said it’s prepared to continue exploring the purchase of TikTok in the US following a conversation between its CEO Satya Nadella and US President Donald Trump.
Photo credit: Pikist
The Bill Gates-founded company will “move quickly” to pursue talks with TikTok’s parent company ByteDance in a matter of weeks and complete the discussions by September 15 this year, according to a statement.
“During this process, Microsoft looks forward to continuing dialogue with the US government, including with the President,” the company added.
According to the computer software leader, its discussions with ByteDance will build upon a notification made by the two companies to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US of their intent to explore the purchase of TikTok in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
If a deal materializes, Microsoft would own and operate TikTok in these markets. The company may also invite other American parties to act as minority investors in the purchase.
Microsoft would then focus on addressing Trump’s concerns over the short-video app. “[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,” it said in the statement.
The company plans to shift the operating model for TikTok to ensure transparency to users and that all private data of the app’s American users is transferred to and remains in the US.
In an August 2 interview with Fox News, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that Chinese software companies in the US, including TikTok and WeChat, have been feeding data directly to the Chinese Communist party.
“Could be their facial recognition patterns. It could be information about their residence, their phone numbers, their friends, who they’re connected to. Those are the issues that President Trump has made clear we’re going to take care of,” he said.
Prior to this, Trump said that he might ban the app in the US over safety concerns. TikTok has previously maintained that it stores its US user data on US-based servers and backs it up in Singapore, and that it’s not subject to Chinese law.
Editing by Charmaine de Lazo
(And yes, we’re serious about ethics and transparency. More information here.)
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