> 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).<p>For me, this was the first time I've actually had to do a lot of thinking about CFIUS and its implications. I definitely didn't understand the scale and impact of CFIUS before, but now I'm at least aware of the power. I'm undecided as to whether or not this is an appropriate power for the president to have, but I think I'm much more relieved to understand the mechanism by which the "TikTok ban" is being implemented than the very nebulous term "ban."<p>The reality is that this is the type of thing that can affect each and every one of us in a new set of unexpected ways. Lawfare's explanation was particularly shocking to me:<p>> TikTok (then called “music.ly”) was bought by ByteDance in 2018 for nearly $1 billion. Of course, music.ly like ByteDance was a Chinese company. So you might think that CFIUS would have no say over that acquisition. But you’d be wrong. For purposes of CFIUS review, a covered “U.S. business” is any entity that engages in interstate commerce in the United States—even if that entity is a foreign corporation. [0]<p>In other words, I'm at least thankful that I now know that the US has a legal framework for this set of actions -- even if they're a bit shocking in the first place.<p>[0]: <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/tiktok-and-law-primer-case-you-need-explain-things-your-teenager" rel="nofollow">https://www.lawfareblog.com/tiktok-and-law-primer-case-you-n...</a>
The takeaways from this potential acquisition for me:
- The splinternet is real - as a foreign business with US interests be aware which side of the splinternet you are positioned. (Stratechery wrote a good piece of the four way split of the internet between US, China, India and EU <a href="https://stratechery.com/2020/india-jio-and-the-four-internets/" rel="nofollow">https://stratechery.com/2020/india-jio-and-the-four-internet...</a>)
- While this may appear as a weird adjacency for Microsoft to go into they have successfully run Xbox a consumer business for many years
- The consumption ecosystem from user data and behaviour from TikTok acquisition can only bolster Microsoft
- Social capital is a lucrative currency for any tech company especially one such as MS who has a lot of catching up to do to other Big Tech
-
Seeing a company post an official blog post about having discussions about an acquisition seems super weird to me. But I suppose once the President is ranting about it on Twitter, it's hard to follow the usual processes.
On the one hand, this is probably a good move made for the wrong reasons.<p>On the other, I feel like if we're going to force a divestment in the name of national security for a social media app, maybe we should have all our social media apps operating domestically abide by strong privacy protections and data isolation policies.
Is it just me or Microsoft has a track record of ruining products they acquired?
Skype, Nokia, Minecraft, Wunderlist...<p>And I am afraid about fate of the GitHub ...<p>There is a huge list here:
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Microsoft" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitio...</a><p>how many of those survived?
There is some really good history of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) found in this Foster Garvey Cross-Border Business Law Blog post from 2018, <a href="https://www.foster.com/cross-border-business-law-blog/cfius-concerns-with-chinese-investments-and-acquisitions-in-the-united-states" rel="nofollow">https://www.foster.com/cross-border-business-law-blog/cfius-...</a>.
> <i>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 United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and would result in Microsoft owning and operating TikTok in these markets. Microsoft may invite other American investors to participate on a minority basis in this purchase.</i><p>If the deal passes, Microsoft will get TikTok in four of the Five Eyes countries. I wonder why the UK service is not included?<p>This also means there will be a TikTok US, TikTok Global, and Douyin.<p>Perhaps the next phase for ByteDance will be completely separate TikToks where they license the technology to local companies. Then these local companies can sign content deals with other countries if they want to share.
I'm worried about the business environment in the United States. At least some evidence should be found or produced to show that tiktok should be banned!
does anyone know if all the music on tiktok is properly following copyright law etc? and will microsoft be in the hook for removing all this content with dmca?
“MY STYLE of deal-making is quite simple and straightforward. I aim very high, and then I just keep pushing and pushing and pushing to get what I’m after.”<p>“I've read hundreds of books about China over the decades. I know the Chinese. I've made a lot of money with the Chinese. I understand the Chinese mind.”<p>― Donald Trump, Trump: The Art of the Deal [1]<p>[1]<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Trump-Art-Deal-Donald-J/dp/0399594493" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Trump-Art-Deal-Donald-J/dp/0399594493</a>