Reports claim that Microsoft has put its bid to buy the China-based TikTok's US operations after President Donald Trumped sought to ban the video-making application. The sale of the app that has over 80 million users, was said to be close to an agreement. However, it was "put in doubt after the US president's warning"
On Friday, Trump stated that he will ban the Chinese-owned shorty-video making app from continuing its operations in the US through an executive order. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft has now halted talks in spite of owner ByteDance's last-ditch efforts
Potential to Elevate Microsoft's Presence
Completion of such a transaction could make Microsoft a big player in the social media space as TikTok is hugely popular among the youth. But the app, owned by Chinese unicorn ByteDance, is facing a lot of scrutiny in the US, especially after getting hit with a ban in India in June.
Last week, TikTok unveiled a plan to offer creators $2 billion globally in the next three years. The TikTok move came after the media said Instagram is reportedly offering financial incentives to some popular TikTok creators in a bid to make them use Reels, a video-music remix feature that the Facebook-owned platform plans to unveil this month in the US.
Denying Chinese Control
Meanwhile, the US general manager of TikTok said on Saturday that the Chinese-owned video-sharing app is "here for the long run". Vanessa Pappas told TikTok users in a video statement that its staff were building "the safest app".
TikTok denies any Chinese control. 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 coronavirus pandemic.
(With inputs from agencies)
