So, here we are in the year 2025, and guess what? Microsoft seems to be making waves again with talks of acquiring TikTok.
For those who might have missed it, last year the U.S. Congress passed a law that required TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, to either sell its American operations or shut them down completely. Former President Joe Biden chose not to veto it, making the bill official law. TikTok, refusing to comply, went offline temporarily last Sunday. However, it made a quick return, displaying a message of gratitude to the newly inaugurated President Trump for offering a temporary reprieve.
President Trump has granted TikTok a 90-day grace period, but due to legal constraints, the app remains unavailable on Google Play and Apple’s App Store. This means TikTok still faces the tough decision of either closing shop in the U.S. or finding a suitable buyer in the coming months.
According to reports from NPR relayed by The Verge, Microsoft is once again in talks to potentially acquire TikTok.
Globally, TikTok’s been under fire for its addictive algorithms, notorious for creating echo chambers and potentially radicalizing users. The U.S. views it as a national security threat due to ByteDance’s alleged ties with the Chinese Communist Party, raising fears about potential propaganda spreading or surveillance of American citizens. Meanwhile, the European Union is scrutinizing TikTok concerning its influence on extremist political movements and the dissemination of pro-Putin narratives.
Interestingly, there’s talk of having Oracle take over TikTok’s global operations, which would allow ByteDance to maintain a minority involvement. Microsoft is purportedly part of these discussions, although the specifics of its involvement remain undisclosed. All parties involved have so far chosen not to comment on these developments.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
In the world of social media titans, Meta has Facebook and Instagram, Google owns YouTube, Amazon controls Twitch, and Microsoft? Well, it has LinkedIn.
Though LinkedIn is successful and brings in profits, it’s very much a business-focused platform and doesn’t sway the cultural trends like some of its social media counterparts. If Microsoft were to own a platform as influential as TikTok, it could potentially amplify its consumer tech lineup—Windows, Surface, and Xbox—to new heights. Imagine seamlessly integrating TikTok features with the Xbox experience, or even introducing a native TikTok-inspired video tool within Windows. Of course, such dreams were likely envisioned during Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype, and we all know how that turned out.
Realistically, it seems doubtful that Microsoft will gain any major operational control over TikTok. It remains one of Microsoft’s largest clients for Azure AI services, leveraging a lot of machine learning capabilities, although much of TikTok’s infrastructure runs on Oracle cloud. Microsoft’s role may very well be limited to fulfilling its Azure AI contract, if I had to hazard a guess.
But, what if things took a different turn? It’s certainly something to ponder.
