It seems that we’re currently in the year 2025, but yet again, there are rumors circulating that Microsoft might be considering purchasing TikTok.
Did you know? A law was enacted by the U.S. Congress last year, which demands TikTok (a China-based social media platform) to sell its operations or shut down entirely. President Biden didn’t veto this bill, so it became a law. TikTok chose not to sell off, resulting in its temporary suspension last Sunday. But surprisingly, it reappeared within hours, displaying a message expressing gratitude to the outgoing President Trump for granting them a reprieve.
President Trump has granted TikTok a temporary reprieve for 90 days, but Google Play and Apple’s App Store haven’t yet reinstated the app because of legal issues. Consequently, it appears that TikTok may be forced to close its operations in the U.S., or find a new owner within the coming months.
According to a report by NPR via The Verge, it appears that Microsoft is once again considering purchasing TikTok.
Worldwide, the popular short video app has faced criticism for its highly addictive algorithm that creates echo chambers and encourages radicalization of various kinds. The U.S. considers it a potential threat to national security due to the parent company Bytedance’s ties with the Chinese Communist Party. American officials fear TikTok could be used to disseminate propaganda or track American citizens, while the European Union is investigating its influence on the rise of extremist parties and Russian pro-Putin propaganda across the bloc.
According to recent reports, it appears that the White House is considering a plan where Oracle takes over TikTok’s worldwide operations, while ByteDance retains a small ownership share. Microsoft is also rumored to be part of the negotiations, though the extent of their involvement remains unclear. All parties involved have chosen not to provide any comments on the matter so far.
Microsoft likely has social media envy
Microsoft‘s counterparts are Facebook (for social media) and YouTube (for video sharing; both owned by Meta), Instagram (also owned by Facebook), and Twitch (owned by Amazon. In the business networking sphere, Microsoft owns LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is indeed a successful business, but it’s primarily focused on professional networking, rather than shaping cultural trends like other social media platforms do. If Microsoft owned or had significant influence over a platform like TikTok, it could potentially amplify its consumer products such as Windows, Surface, and Xbox. Imagine seamless integration between TikTok and Xbox, or a video editing tool similar to TikTok on top of Windows. However, history has shown us that predictions about the impact of acquisitions, such as Microsoft purchasing Skype, may not always come true.
It seems unlikely that Microsoft will take ownership of TikTok, despite TikTok being one of Microsoft‘s major clients for Azure AI services. Most of TikTok’s infrastructure is hosted on Oracle cloud, but it uses Azure for many machine learning tools and features. If I were to speculate, Microsoft‘s role might be limited to their contract for providing AI services.
But what if?
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2025-01-26 11:39