Is it 2025 already? Time does fly, and here we are again with Microsoft possibly stepping in to buy TikTok.
Just to catch you up, last year saw the United States Congress pass legislation requiring China-based TikTok to either sell off its U.S. operations or shut down entirely. The previous President, Joe Biden, didn’t veto this bill, so it became law. TikTok resisted selling, leading it to briefly go offline last Sunday. Curiously, it was back up in no time, with a message thanking the then-newly inaugurated President Trump for granting the platform a reprieve.
President Trump offered TikTok a 90-day stay, but due to legal restrictions, the app remains absent from both Google Play and Apple’s App Store. TikTok still faces a looming deadline to either leave the U.S. market or find a new owner in the near future.
Now, according to NPR (via The Verge), Microsoft might be stepping up once more to make a play for TikTok.
Globally, TikTok has faced criticism for its algorithm, known to be addictive and a driver of echo chambers and radicalization. Concerns in the U.S. stem from its parent company ByteDance’s ties with the Chinese Communist Party, with worries about potential propaganda and tracking threats. Across the pond, the EU is also examining TikTok’s role in bolstering extremist groups and spreading pro-Putin Russian narratives.
Reports hint at a potential solution involving Oracle acquiring TikTok’s global operations, with ByteDance retaining a minor stake. Microsoft is also mentioned in these discussions, but the extent of its involvement isn’t clear, and all parties have so far refused to comment.
TikTok has soared in popularity, especially with Gen Alpha and Gen Z. Meanwhile, Meta has Facebook and Instagram, Google has YouTube, Amazon owns Twitch, and Microsoft? Well, Microsoft has LinkedIn.
Though LinkedIn is a substantial and profitable venture, it doesn’t sway the cultural zeitgeist like other platforms. If Microsoft could influence or even own a network like TikTok, it might provide a major boost to its consumer platforms like Windows, Surface, and Xbox. Imagine seamless integration between Xbox and TikTok, or TikTok-inspired video editing tools built into Windows. Of course, similar excitement surrounded Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype — and we all remember how that turned out.
However, it’s doubtful Microsoft will end up with significant control over TikTok. TikTok is a major client of Microsoft’s Azure AI tech, utilizing Azure for many machine learning capabilities, although Oracle hosts the majority of its infrastructure. If I were to hazard a guess, Microsoft’s involvement is probably limited to its Azure AI contract.
But what if Microsoft did take the plunge?
