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| Twitter and TikTok in preliminary merger negotiations |
The Wall Street Journal reported that Twitter had initial discussions about a merger with TikTok. This makes the social media platform the latest company to try to strike a potential deal with popular video sharing apps.
As the Wall Street Journal noted, it is unclear whether the Twitter platform will continue the potential acquisition of TikTok, as such a deal would be fraught with major obstacles.
The Trump administration's August 6 executive order is the biggest challenge for any business because it bars TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, from trading in the United States.
The decree will take effect within 45 days. Although there is no evidence that TikTok has shared US data with the Chinese government, the US government believes that Chinese-owned apps pose a potential security threat.
TikTok says it plans to challenge the Donald Trump administration's executive order.
Microsoft is the only company that has publicly acknowledged takeover negotiations with ByteDance.
Twitter represents a long-term opportunity to try to take over TikTok as Microsoft is likely to be the number one contender for the deal, the Wall Street Journal said.
Twitter is much smaller than Microsoft. Sources in the Wall Street Journal said: Social media platforms may be less exposed to antitrust censorship than Microsoft, but Twitter does not have the money to make potential purchases like the software giant.
Microsoft said on a blog: Its CEO Satya Nadella (Satya Nadella) gave a speech to President Trump about the potential acquisition of TikTok, including TikTok operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Canada and New Zealand.
Microsoft has made it clear that negotiations must be completed before September 15th. According to a Wall Street Journal report, any merger with Twitter would include Tik Tok activities in the United States.