Microsoft is back on track to acquire the US operations of the popular video-sharing app TikTok, a Chinese-owned company, in a Microsoft and TikTok deal.
Previously the talks were in doubt as US President Donald Trump had threatened to ban the app over concerns for national security. But when the company met with him recently, the President appeared to back away from those threats.
In a recent release, Microsoft said, “following a conversation between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Donald J Trump, Microsoft is prepared to continue discussions to explore a purchase of TikTok in the United States.”
The company went on to acknowledge the “importance of addressing the President’s concerns” over national security.
Microsoft also said it will continue talks with ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, with the intention of “completing these discussions no later than September 15.”
TikTok is estimated to have one billion users worldwide and is mainly popular with a younger demographic.
The earlier threat alarmed many American TikTok users, especially those who make money via the platform.
With a Microsoft and TikTok deal, Microsoft expects to “build on the experience TikTok users currently love while adding world-class security, privacy, and digital safety protections,” the company said.
If Microsoft is successful with the purchase, it would allow the company to have a significant presence in the booming social networking market. The group already owns LinkedIn as well as Teams, an internal messaging service for businesses.
