
Microsoft Statement on TikTok - myth17
https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2020/09/13/microsoft-statement-on-tiktok/
======
dang
Ongoing discussion at
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24464933](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24464933).

------
doctoboggan
Strange, it seems like they are in a way accusing ByteDance of not selling to
them because MS was going to make changes to meet their "highest standards for
security, privacy, online safety, and combatting disinformation".

Is it usual for a company to give out any statement when a potential
acquisition does not happen?

~~~
vikramkr
I don't think they're being as coy as the phrasing "in a way accusing"
suggests. This is a very direct accusation that Bytedance is not on board with
changes for privacy, security, etc.

~~~
approxim8ion
with changes _Microsoft claim to be_ for privacy, security etc. to the public.

------
patrickaljord
> We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users,
> __while protecting national security interests __

Does anyone seriously believe TikTok is a threat to national security?

> combatting disinformation

There you have it. I've seen TikTok videos go viral being really critical of
the US government including its foreign policy. The kind of video that would
just be invisible or outright banned from Youtube or Facebook video. That's
why they want to get rid of it.

~~~
WillPostForFood
>Does anyone seriously believe TikTok is a threat to national security?

Everyone who believes Facebook was used to influence the 2016 election should
believe TikTok poses a similar threat. I'd agree that the threat is overblown,
but many serious people, in good faith, seriously believe it.

~~~
divbzero
Current US intelligence officials [1] are among those serious people who
seriously believe that social media is being used to influence American
elections.

[1]: [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/china-election-
interference...](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/china-election-interference-
threat)

~~~
mhh__
If you read any account of the history of the KGB and GRU (obviously the west
does it too), so-called Active Measures are their bread and butter. It would
be bizarre if they weren't trying to influence countries via social media

------
jedberg
Looks like they decided to sell to Oracle instead.

I wonder if this is Microsoft's way of saying, "It still won't be safe under
Oracle".

------
yepthatsreality
Short, sweet, and to the point; you can feel the rage.

------
peacefulhat
There's a Reuters article that claims the Chinese government prefers TikTok
close US operations like in India than go through with a forced sale and asset
transfer, and they're willing to use heavy-handed policy to make Bytedance do
what they want. Makes sense. Acquisitions should not be made under the barrel
of a gun from the US government. It will be very harmful to the Chinese
economy if more companies are required to spinoff US operations.

~~~
newen
Yeah, it's like US companies buying UK companies and then massively profiting
off them. Why should China subsidize startup costs for a company and then sell
it so the US can make massive profits off it? It doesn't seem to be in their
interests.

------
dilap
"combatting disinformation"

I.e., US govt doesn't want a popular social network that is not under its
control.

------
gumby
Seems like killing tiktok would be the perfect way to turn out the youth vote.

~~~
peacefulhat
Democrats like Chuck Schumer wanted to force the sale and asset transfer of
TikTok too.

------
leptoniscool
They found a higher bidder? Or did export restrictions from China hinder sale?

~~~
kmfrk
ByteDance announced they weren't going to hand over the recommendation algo
for TikTok which seems like a bit of a dealbreaker.

~~[https://twitter.com/verge/status/1305285085722292224~~](https://twitter.com/verge/status/1305285085722292224~~)

Right link:
[https://twitter.com/business/status/1305179144171421708](https://twitter.com/business/status/1305179144171421708)

~~~
ComputerGuru
Your link has nothing to do with recommendation engines? Perhaps you pasted
the wrong one?

~~~
kmfrk
Oh whoops, I picked the tweet next to this one:
[https://twitter.com/business/status/1305179144171421708](https://twitter.com/business/status/1305179144171421708).

------
vortico
This reminds me a bit of a wing-man situation not working. "Donald tried to
hook us up on a date, but she wasn't interested."

------
ponker
Ultimately I feel that this deal is so skeezy and coated in the slime of
Trumpist corruption that I wanted it to go to the worst possible company and
it looks like this happened.

------
ddmma
Yahoo had a similar decision some years ago, greedy corporates per se

------
StaticChamp
Why would anyone invite cancer?

------
vitalychernobyl
Womp womp..

------
DethNinja
So basically if you want to serve the USA market, you have to give up the
shares of your company to ruling class of USA? This is eerily similar to how
communist China operates.

~~~
TMWNN
If TikTok were a Canadian, British, French, German, Korean, Japanese, or
Taiwanese company, the US government wouldn't have intervened in the first
place. It's mainland China that concerns people and governments.

~~~
lionspaw
that's simply wishful thinking.

the US sanctioned Japan when it threatened its economic dominance too.

------
tus88
Storm in a teacup over a stupid vines app. Really.

------
goolulusaurs
Frankly, I don't give a shit about the national interest of the US or the
national interest of China. As a user of tiktok, I enjoy the content and I
will be saddened if it shuts down. We like to think of our country as our
team, and to root for it in international struggles, but the reality is that
it's the average consumer that gets harmed by these power struggles between
nations. These economic proxy wars are just as much of a racket as
conventional wars, and the sooner we stop allowing the few to rule the many,
and play out their egoic power struggles with our lives, the better.

