Why Does Microsoft Want TikTok?
TikTok could be banned in the US soon.
If you have watched a few short, funny videos on the media sharing platform, TikTok in the past couple of days, you may already be aware of what has recently occurred.
A statement released by President Trump last week caused a panic among the members of the TikTok community. The app was expected to be banned by August 1st by presidential executive order, however, a few days have passed since then and everything seems to have gone back to normal. Countless users of the famous platform are confused by what just occurred and demand an explanation for the panic that was caused. But before going into the bits and pieces of what occurred this past weekend, we must first understand what this platform is and why our president attempted to place a nationwide ban on it.
What is TikTok?
Read More »When attempting to post a video, the admins will review it for anything that goes against their policies and guidelines. If the video looks fine, you will be allowed to post it.
This app is generally a safe and fun app when looking to kill time. It can be downloaded on most IOS and Android devices. Popular users have even found a way of generating income from views, making it a way of living as well. With all this information about the app, you may be wondering what exactly made our president decide that the app was unsafe.
TikTok and ByteDance
TikTok was previously owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company. The issue with this is that it poses a security threat to the entire nation. The information collected by the app was previously available to solely the Chinese government because of ByteDance. This threat has the top experts of America debating over whether we want our information leaked to China or not.
The app is given our emails, names, ages, and access to our social media accounts during the registration process. This means that the Chinese government is in control over all of over data. Recent conflicts between the U.S. and China have caused tension between the two countries and our president has decided that it is not worth having the app around.
The main question is what the Chinese government could potentially do with our information if this tension was fostered. However, some members and reputable sources have speculated as to whether our president declared his support for a ban due to the security threat or due to his hurt feelings.
A campaign was recently run by the young members of the TikTok community to ruin one of our president’s many rallies. The TikTokers conspired to purchase tickets for the rallies and never show up. The funny part about this is that the adolescents successfully executed their plan.
The White House has not stated the exact reason for president Trump’s disapproval of TikTok, however, with the given timeline of his announcement, this campaign may very well be an additional reason.
The president planned to go through with this ban on August 1st by releasing an executive order, however, this plan was thwarted by Microsoft.
Why Does Microsoft Want TikTok?
With such successful enterprises such as Minecraft and Xbox, you may wonder why Microsoft has set their eyes on this media sharing platform. The acquisition of this platform may seem a bit unusual for Microsoft.
Microsoft is currently locked in a six-week deal with ByteDance to take possession of the famous media-sharing platform. As can be inferred from statements released by the company, Microsoft essentially wants the power of social media that comes with owning this platform. Being that it has one of the largest populations of adolescents, members will be more inclined to purchase products released by Microsoft.
The acquisition of this platform could also give the company the upper hand that they desire in today’s competitive market. This newly acquired social media platform could create competition against other leading platforms such as Facebook or even the Google search engine.
In a world where children are growing up using Ipads or Chromebooks, Microsoft seems to have been left behind, trying their best to catch up. Of course, the company is not doing too bad in the world of video games, however, acquiring this platform will allow them to improve their products.
It will help them identify and analyze consumer behaviors and use them to market their products accordingly. The company has long tried to gain the attention of the younger audience in our society, but the lack of insight into their behaviors has always led to failure. Of course, they could also use the platform as a method of advertisement for their products such as Windows or Xbox.
Microsoft also plans to use the platform to assist them in testing AI features. The company has long attempted to incorporate AI-driven chatbots into their products without success. The platform currently has AI features built-in to numerous video filters and the “For You” page is created by a recommendation engine. In short, AI is a large part of the platform.
Microsoft has countless plans for the platform that can only begin once the deal is complete. However, because the company does not own the platform yet, there is no saying what happens if the deal does not go through. The failure of the deal may result in a nationwide ban on the platform and cause another panic among the members of the platform.
How Will a Ban Affect TikTokers?
Before August 1st, countless TikTokers posted what they believed would be their last videos ever. However, because the ban was not placed, the members are very happy to continue using the platform. What would having a nationwide ban on the platform mean for these TikTokers?
For popular users with a following count of over 30 thousand people, the platform offers them a way of gaining revenue from views. Some users have even gone famous on the platform to the point where they now appear in advertisements or TV shows. As a bonus, several companies may pay popular users to promote their products in their videos.
The platform has become a way to gain an extra source of income for many users and if the ban was placed, these TikTokers would lose a steady stream of income. Of course, this would mean that they would either move to another platform or simply get another job.
It would be interesting to see what happens if the platform was banned, but with the six-week deal currently proceeding, it is unlikely that it would occur.
