Whether you are a social media hound or a punter that plays slots like Extra Chilli demo, there is a major change that is likely to happen in the social media tech industry. While gambling facilities across the world are slowly re-opening due to the pandemic, the side of the tech industry is gearing for some major changes.
Recent news took the world by storm as Microsoft is rumoured to acquire Tik Tok, a social media giant in both China and the United States. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, confirmed the speculations as he announced that Microsoft is in talks with ByteDance for a possible acquisition.
This move comes after President Trump has made an announcement that he plans to ban Tik Tok in the US amidst claims that the social media platform was used to sabotage his campaign. There were speculations that teenagers used the TikTok to spread a movement where they registered to get seats for President Trump’s rally, only not to attend to sabotage his campaign.
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company. The app is trending really big in the US, and the number of US users puts the Trump Presidency in a defensive position against potential security threats.
Microsoft has confirmed that they are now in talks with the executives of Tik Tok. The US government is also involved. According to President Trump, he is not at all happy about the acquisition, but his administration is prepared to work out a solution. He also said that he prefers to ban the TikTok app in the US.
According to recent developments, the two companies are set to conclude the deal by September 15 of 2020. If this deal pushes through, Microsoft will find itself in an advantageous position in the arena of social networks. It should be recalled that Microsoft was an investor in Facebook.
If the acquisition is successful, Microsoft is now in the position to be the rival of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, the three biggest tech giants in the social media space.
One thing to note here is that this acquisition is not just about the operations in the US. According to sources, the buy-out of US operations includes Tik Tok releases and operations in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
According to Microsoft, they intend to improve TikTok. They will make some enhancements in its security and offerings. The app will become more world-class and can compete against the reigning social media apps available today.
As far as security is concerned, Microsoft and the US government are working on a solution where all the information of the US users shall be deleted from Chinese databases as soon as the acquisition is complete.
This requirement is put in place to ensure that any Chinese activities that are meant to spy on Americans are halted. This also ensures that American privacy laws are respected and complied with.
President Trump is also in agreement that the Chinese company, ByteDance, only has 45 days to make a decision. The 45 days include a deal that is favourable not just to Microsoft but also to the Us government.
Microsoft is positive that once the acquisition is completed, the database of US users will only stay on US soil. All server data will be migrated to the US, and the Chinese will delete all information they have about US TikTok users.
As far as revenues are concerned, Microsoft is expecting a revenue leap wit this acquisition. It has millions of users in the United States, and it is going to be a top competitor of Facebook. Even before this acquisition, Facebook has already viewed TikTok as a rival.
Back in 2007, Microsoft invested in Facebook for a cool sum of $240 million. Ten years later, TikTok got released, and it did not take three years for it to grow massively in the United States. Now, Microsoft and Facebook are going to be rivals.
Also, ByteDance succeeded in acquiring an app called Musical.ly, a company that Facebook also wanted to buy but the deal went sour. TikTok bought Muscal.ly to the tune of $800 million. The business deal between Microsoft and ByteDance has oversight. This oversight is from the CFIUS or the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Microsoft and the US office of ByteDance are going to provide documents to the government, and the government shall have a say on how the deal must be made.
While we have no guarantee that Microsoft will own TikTok, we know that this is likely to happen. This is because of the pressure coming from Trump—he is resolute in banning the app from the US, and only the acquisition can save the app from this move. While waiting, we can play popular online slots for free and see how this deal goes.