WHAT EXACTLY IS TIKTOK?
TIKTOK is a Chinese video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based Internet technology company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming.
It's basically a platform where you can make and share videos. And by videos, I mean short clips.
And it being short is a huge reason behind its success considering the fact that we are moving into a fast-paced word.
WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT TIKTOK?
TikTok enables everyone to be a creator, and encourages users to share their passion and creative expression through their videos.
But so, does a lot of other social media platforms! So, what really is special about it?
Well the answer to this is the fact that TIKTOK’s user interface is easily one of the best out there...
Their personalisation perfectly fits every individual which is easier said than done.
Then moving on to the fact that the algorithm that comes along with tiktok is as good as it gets. By algorithm I mean AI, coding, and user predictability.
BAN OF TIKTOK IN INDIA
India's government has banned TikTok and dozens more Chinese-made apps it says are a danger to the country.
In a statement, it said the apps were "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, security of state and public order".
And this is where it all began. You see, India has one of the highest user bases for tiktok and when the government decided to ban it, tiktok went bonkers!
And then came the dominoes effect which was followed by THE US president Donald trump wanting to ban it too until and unless they sell it or partner up with some local US based company.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
President Trump issued an executive order Friday giving ByteDance 90 days to either sell or spin off its TikTok business in the US.
The latest executive order requires ByteDance to destroy any TikTok data from US users, and report to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States once all the data has been destroyed.
ByteDance must also destroy any data collected from TikTok precursor app Musical.ly, which the company bought in 2017
TikTok is loved by 100 million Americans because it is a home for entertainment, self-expression, and connection.
TikTok said in an email statement to The Verge on Friday. “We’re committed to continuing to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create on our platform for many years to come.”
MICROSOFT AND ORACLE
Microsoft has been in talks to acquire TikTok — though co-founder Bill Gates has since called the potential deal a “ poisoned chalice ”
Microsoft said it expected to complete the discussions “no later than September 15th, 2020.”
ORACLE
ORACLE is A US based company which has close ties to Donald trump.
And if they managed to pull off a deal with Tiktok it would then have no problem being in THE US anymore.
TIKTOK
TikTok’s parent ByteDance has decided it won’t sell or transfer the algorithm behind the video-sharing app in any sale or divestment the Chinese government may prefer TikTok to simply shutter its U.S. operations instead of allowing it to be sold to an American company.
So, we see that both oracle and Microsoft are interested in buying Tiktok but Tiktok has no interest in selling their masterpiece algorithm and more.
ORACLE WON THE BID
“We did get a proposal over the weekend that includes Oracle as the trusted technology partner with Oracle making many representations for national security issues. There is also a commitment to create TikTok global as a U.S.-headquartered company with 20,000 new jobs,” Mnuchin said.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, will be reviewing the offer this week “and then we will be making a recommendation to the President and review it with him.”
He declined to reveal other details but he and Oracle clearly defined it as a technology partnership not an outright acquisition of TikTok’s U.S. operations, which rejected suitor Microsoft had been pursuing.
NOW what's to be noted here is that, everyone thought either oracle or Microsoft will buy TIKTOK or at least own the majority of it.
But here we see that they have now decided to just partner up with tiktok
Which basically means that they will keep an eye on how tiktok behaves in the US in the context of safety and privacy.
This pleases the citizens, the president and TIKTOK as tiktok now doesn't have to reveal its algorithm or sell it.
CONCLUSION
I want you all to keep in mind the fact that we are just interpreters and are sharing and commenting on what's available to us. So don't jump to conclusions.
Let's wait it out and see where this leads us.
But I'm sure that tiktok is not completely selling out as it takes high pride in itself and wants to be part of their success story till the end.
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