It may fuel tension between America and China .. Trump gives Microsoft 45 days to acquire Tik Tok

3 Insiders said that US President Donald Trump only agreed to allow Microsoft (Microsoft) to negotiate the acquisition of the TikTok app for short videos, if she could reach a deal within 45 days.

The move marks a shift in Trump's stance, and the tech giant has pushed Microsoft to announce its interest in completing a social networking app acquisition, a move that could fuel tension in US-China relations.

Trump said on Friday that he intended to ban the Tik Tok application, amid fears that its Chinese ownership would pose a threat to national security, due to personal data being processed by the app.

The acquisition of the Tik Tok app - which boasts of 100 million American users - will provide Microsoft with a rare opportunity to become a major competition for social media giants like Facebook and Snap, noting that it also owns LinkedIn's social network.

Trump had rejected the idea of ​​selling the app to Microsoft on Friday, but following a discussion between him and the CEO of the company, Satya Nadella, Microsoft said - in a statement on Sunday - that it would continue negotiations to buy Tik Tok from Beat Dance, and that it was aiming to reach an agreement by September 15 /September.

The sources said that this deadline was set for the Beat Dance and Microsoft Corporation for Foreign Investment in the United States, which examines deals involving national security risks.

Pressure

A source said that Trump changed his mind following pressure from some of his advisers and many leaders in the Republican Party.

The application ban would alienate many of its young users before the US presidential election in November, and it would open the door to a wave of judicial appeals.

Several senior Republican members of Congress have issued statements in the past two days, urging Trump to support the sale of Tik Tok to Microsoft.

The sources - who requested anonymity before a White House statement was issued - said that the foreign investment committee in the United States will oversee the negotiations between ByteDance and Microsoft.

The US government's Foreign Investment Committee has the right to block any agreement.

"It fully appreciates the importance of addressing the president's concerns," Microsoft said in a statement. "It is committed to acquiring Tik Tok with a full security review and providing appropriate economic benefits to the United States, including the US Treasury."

In a statement issued on Sunday evening that there was no mention of the Tic-Talk application, Byte Dance said it was facing "complex, unimaginable difficulties" in moving from local to global.

As relations between the United States and China deteriorated due to trade and Hong Kong issues, cyber security and the emergence of the new Corona virus, Tik Tok emerged as a new hotbed of tension in the conflict between the world's two largest economies.

Today's China Daily called Monday Byte Dance a victim of an American "persecution" and said Washington has not provided evidence to support its claims that Tik Tok poses a threat to US security.

data transfer

Under the proposed deal, Microsoft said it would control Tik Tok's operations in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

It added that it will ensure that all personal data of American users is transferred to the Tik Tok application, and that it remains in the United States.

She said she might invite other US investors to take minority stakes in Tik Tok.

About 70% of Byte Dance investors come from the United States, and it is not clear how much Microsoft might pay for Tik Tok.

Reuters reported last week that the expectations of the Beat Dance app evaluation exceeded $ 50 billion, although US pressure to liquidate it might cut that price.

Meanwhile, China said on Monday that it firmly opposes any US behavior against Chinese electronic companies, in response to statements by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that Washington will soon move against Chinese companies supplying the Chinese government with data.

China hopes that the United States will stop its discriminatory policies, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin - to reporters on a daily briefing.