OdishaPlus Bureau
Microsoft has officially confirmed it is in talks to acquire the operations of TikTok in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand markets following a conversation between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Donald Trump.
“Microsoft is prepared to continue discussions to explore a purchase of TikTok in the United States,” the tech giant said in a blog post late on Monday. Earlier Microsoft had halted its bid to buy the US operations of TikTok after President Donald Trump vowed to ban the app that has over 80 million monthly users in the country.
Microsoft said that it “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 US government, including with the President.
The discussions with ByteDance will build upon a notification made by Microsoft and ByteDance to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The two companies have provided notice of their intent to explore a preliminary proposal that would involve a purchase of the TikTok service in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and would result in Microsoft owning and operating TikTok in these markets.
“To the extent that any such data is currently stored or backed-up outside the United States, Microsoft would ensure that this data is deleted from servers outside the country after it is transferred,” it said. The move to ban TikTok comes at a time of heightened tensions between the Trump administration and the Chinese government over a number of issues, including trade disputes and Beijing’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.