You already know that Microsoft wants to buy the management of Tik Tok from the United States, so that it is independent of the Chinese Tik Tok and can comply with Trump’s requests and the social network is not blocked in the United States.
The issue is still moving, and although Tik Tok has until September to make a decision, it is also thinking of going into legal action on this matter.
The fact is that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has talked about TikTok’s possible deal with Microsoft and called it “a poisoned chalice.
He did an interview with Wired and said that Microsoft’s acquisition of parts of TikTok would not be easy or simple.
“Who knows what will happen with that deal […] being a big player in the social media business is not a simple game, as Microsoft will have to deal with a whole new level of content moderation.”
He believes that the fact that Facebook has competition is a good thing, and finds it odd that Trump wants to eliminate the only decent competitor today.
Gates seems to be as confused as the rest of the world about this issue, as well as Trump’s request to gain “something” from this deal.
Although everything seems to indicate that Microsoft’s interest is in the study of trends and training of AI brains from online videos, it is clear that buying Tik Tok means swooping into a world that Microsoft doesn’t know very well, that of social networks. It thus risks being part of a larger trade war between the United States and China.