With a TikTok sale, China would lose control of its first global internet sensation, hardening suspicions that the US is sabotaging its tech growth

Washington's push for Chinese company to sell American operations hardens suspicions in China that the U.S. aims to sabotage its technology

Wall Street Journal 2020-08-04

Discussion

@reckless Nilay Patel on x
Two nuclear superpowers taking nationalistic revenge on each other is not really a great alternative to globalization https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@nspector4 Norman Spector on x
Beijing—which has barred Silicon Valley's biggest companies from gaining a foothold in China, saying they don't adhere to Chinese law—slammed the U.S. move on TikTok https://www.wsj.com/... #cdnpoli
@mims Christopher Mims on x
How is the sale of TikTok viewed in China? Not well. “Global Times, a Communist Party tabloid, derided the situation as “the hunting and looting of TikTok by the U.S. government in conjunction with U.S. high-tech companies."" https://www.wsj.com/...
@firstadopter Tae Kim on x
The list of unintended consequences is vast. The U.S. is playing with fire -> WSJ: “On Douyin, ... where videos commenting on a possible U.S. ban circulated widely, one popular comment suggested Huawei be allowed to buy Apple Inc.'s China operations.” https://www.wsj.com/...
@jchengwsj Jonathan Cheng on x
In Beijing's eyes, the U.S. move to strong-arm TikTok, one of its most valuable global companies, is proof the U.S. views any Chinese tech company with global success as a challenge, no matter how it runs its business. @lizalinwsj @jingyanghk @evawxiao https://www.wsj.com/...
@bhadrapunchline M. K. Bhadrakumar on x
“US practices, including banning TikTok, show country's weakening competitiveness. Can't Facebook just come up with a more powerful app & beat TikTok in the market? Problem is Facebook cannot do it. It can only resort to the brute force of US politics... https://www.globaltimes.c…
@jorge_guajardo Jorge Guajardo on x
“If following the wrong example set by U.S., every country could use national security as an excuse to target American companies...The U.S. should not open a Pandora's box, otherwise it will swallow the bitter fruit itself”, China's FM spokesperson. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@nickwingfield Nick Wingfield on x
That would be some 4D chess if Microsoft, with TikTok deal, is really trying to torpedo Apple's China biz (~15% of revenue). https://twitter.com/...
@globaltimesnews @globaltimesnews on x
#..时报Editorial: By banning #Huawei, the US would lag behind in 5G. By banning #TikTok, the US would harm its internet diversity and its belief in freedom & democracy. When similar things happen time and again, the US will take steps closer to decline. https://www.globaltimes.cn/.…
@atbwebb Alex Webb on x
Not to endorse the US pushing a sale, but the irony is that China's been pulling this sort of shit for years. https://twitter.com/...
@thehill @thehill on x
#BREAKING: President Trump says TikTok must be bought by US company and pay cut of selling price into US Treasury: “Right now they don't have any rights unless we give it to them.” https://twitter.com/...
@axios @axios on x
Trump today said that the U.S. Treasury should get “a very substantial portion” of the sale fee if TikTok is bought — a claim that skates very close to extortion. https://www.axios.com/...
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
NEW: In a sharp reversal from last week, Trump blesses a TikTok/Microsoft deal — though says some portion of the sale “should go to the treasury” (!?!?) w/ @AnaSwanson https://www.nytimes.com/...
@thedextriarchy Adi Robertson on x
I feel like businesses should be a little alarmed by the president drawing this analogy! https://twitter.com/...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
The full Trump statements are even more troubling than the initial tweet paraphrasing. He is literally saying part of the purchase price must go to Treasury because there's no deal w/out the WH approval. Don't see how that's anything but extortion.
@atrupar Aaron Rupar on x
President Quid Pro Quo https://twitter.com/...
@senschumer Chuck Schumer on x
A US company should buy TikTok so everyone can keep using it and your data is safe. This is about privacy. With TikTok in China, it's subject to Chinese Communist Party laws that may require handing over data to their government. A safe way must be found for TikTok to continue.
@jeffmason1 Jeff Mason on x
Trump says TikTok will close in the United States on Sept 15 unless Microsoft buys it. He says he's fine with Microsoft buying it. https://twitter.com/...
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
https://www.bloomberg.com/... “...one of one of four or five American technology companies, Yahoo, Google, Cisco and others, who helped China originally build the Great Firewall of China, which is used to surveil, track, monitor, censor and imprison the Chinese people” —Navarro.🤔…
@baekdal Thomas Baekdal on x
As a European, having TikTok owned by a US company does not in any way give me any more privacy. https://twitter.com/...
@goingparabolic Jason A. Williams on x
Use Fed power to force sale of company and get deal fees too! Next up Amazon! https://twitter.com/...
@halsparks Hal Sparks on x
This is fucking gibberish. And any republican who even nods in his direction is agreeing with the biggest socialist move in American history. Democrats just know it's nonsense. https://twitter.com/...
@scottlincicome Scott Lincicome on x
Libertarian internal screaming (and hilarious WH silence) aside, this doesn't seem encouraging for future foreign (non-China) investment in the USA https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@davidcorndc David Corn on x
By saying the US Treasury should get a cut of any Microsoft-TikTok sale, Trump seems to have come out in favor of a merger-and-acquisition tax. Very Warren-ish. https://twitter.com/...
@highbrow_nobrow @highbrow_nobrow on x
This is gangster capitalism. https://twitter.com/...
@obsoletedogma Matt O'Brien on x
This is Putin-esque https://twitter.com/...
@darrylwolk Darryl Wolk on x
Tensions between China and the United States could impact American businesses. If America is seen as a toxic brand by Chinese consumers, it could result in less iPhone sales and a rejection of American brands. The situation with @tiktok_us will be interesting to watch. https://tw…
@madammiaow Anna Chen on x
The US is no longer a productive entity. I've said since Trump's trade war that this was a mafia shakedown of the rising superpower by a busted flush. Tariffs, Huawei, TikTok - US wants for its billionaires what China invests in its people/infrastructure. https://www.wsj.com/...
@mollywood Molly Wood on x
Dear econ friends, and I'm sincerely asking here. Is there any precedent for any company paying “key money” to the US Treasury in an acquisition deal? https://www.cnbc.com/...
@mathewi Mathew Ingram on x
So I guess we're all just going to go along with the president asking for a kickback from Microsoft for allowing it to buy TikTok, and Microsoft writing a blog post basically promising to pay him?
@netcit2 Netcit on x
@SenSchumer Ha! Bill Gates keep my Data Safe. Where have you been the last 2 decades Mr. Schumar? Microsoft can't even keep Windows safe. Let's see why MS would want Tik-Tok shall we? https://www.theverge.com/...
@david_boaz David Boaz on x
Is this nationalist conservatism? Make America “pay to play”? Trump calls TikTok a hot brand, demands a chunk of its sale price | TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/...
@yashar Yashar Ali on x
Trump Says U.S. Should Get Slice of TikTok Sale Price President says he told Microsoft's Nadella that U.S. should get a cut 'because we're making it possible for this deal to happen' https://www.wsj.com/...
@briansantamaria Brian Santa Maria on x
If you want companies to give the government “a cut” for making their business “possible,” there's an avenue for that: Corporate taxes. https://twitter.com/...
@yashar Yashar Ali on x
The US government isn't bailing out Microsoft and as far as we know, it isn't providing the financing for this deal. Those would be good reasons for the USG to get equity. Giving regulatory approval doesn't come with a percentage of the business like a finders fee. https://twitte…
@prchovanec Patrick Chovanec on x
“He saved us from Socialism.” https://twitter.com/...
@normative Julian Sanchez on x
Grappling with the depressing possibility that this is a thing they've actually managed to frighten people into worrying about. “I just turned my back on little Timmy for a second, and the ChiComs snatched him right off the street!” https://twitter.com/...
@karlbode Karl Bode on x
https://twitter.com/... you just KNOW they're serious about privacy and security from the way they refuse to fund election security improvements, to their relentless attacks on anything even vaguely resembling an internet-era consumer privacy law
@laurawalkerkc Laura Walker on x
Trump advocating the government can butt into private deals and take a cut. Looking forward to Mark Levin celebrating this bigly good brain idea: https://twitter.com/...
@spencerjakab Spencer Jakab on x
Microsoft should walk away if it has to pay the fee Trump proposes for TikTok - for the sake of all U.S. multinationals. With @djtgallagher https://www.wsj.com/...
@iansherr Ian Sherr on x
An interesting argument here. If @satyanadella listened though, the inevitable result of no sale would of course would be that the issue would be kicked to the courts or Apple/Google and possibly ISPs as well. Not saying that makes the problem any easier though https://twitter.co…
@carlquintanilla Carl Quintanilla on x
WSJ: If POTUS's idea of 'TikTok ‘key money’ “is serious and “deemed legal, it would set a dangerous precedent for the seizure of foreign businesses through regulatory fiat, and open the door for U.S. firms to suffer the same treatment” (via @Spencerjakab) https://www.wsj.com/...
@jamesvgrimaldi @jamesvgrimaldi on x
Dangerous precedent: Paying the U.S. government a cut of TikTok's sale price could blow up in corporate America's face. This could be a precedent for the seizure of foreign businesses https://www.wsj.com/...
@wsj @wsj on x
Heard on the Street: If the price of Microsoft's TikTok deal includes an unseemly payout to the U.S. Treasury, corporate America has far more to lose than to gain by participating https://www.wsj.com/...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
As we report in Axios Pro Rata today, Apple has expressed serious interest in buying TikTok. https://www.axios.com/...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
State of play: Apple spokesperson tells Axios that there are no discussions about buying TikTok and the company isn't interested. Should note that multiple sources confirm Apple's expressions of interest.
@axios @axios on x
Trump said twice Monday that the Treasury would need a portion of TikTok's sale price, as a condition of regulatory approval. This is akin to extortion — what you'd expect to hear on a wiretap, not from the White House to reporters, @danprimack writes. https://www.axios.com/...
@mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x
But seriously, with a TikTok a deal Apple would get: - quagmire of content moderation - the business of advertising - another Android app to maintain All the things they love.
@karlbode Karl Bode on x
the calories, thought, and billable hours we're pouring into a glorified policy brain fart that will in no way prevent China from spying on anybody is really quite remarkable https://twitter.com/...
@backlon Dieter Bohn on x
Make TikTok the new iMovie you cowards https://twitter.com/...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
State of play: Apple spokesperson tells Axios that there are no discussions about buying TikTok and the company isn't interested. Should note that multiple sources told us of Apple's expressions of interest, including a senior administration official.
@mkbhd Marques Brownlee on x
Tim Cook leans back in his chair, rubbing his hands together “The plan is simple. We bid them up to 10 times the price. Then we bail. Microsoft overpays. It's perfect.” https://twitter.com/...
@theromit Romit Mehta on x
Pump up the price for the others, or get more trade exceptions added? https://twitter.com/...
@pranavdixit @pranavdixit on x
I still haven't managed wrap my head around the TikTok news cycle despite reading a lot about it. https://twitter.com/...
@lisaabramowicz1 Lisa Abramowicz on x
Bidding war between Apple & Microsoft for TikTok....? How does this work with Washington getting involved? https://twitter.com/...
@johnolilly John Lilly on x
This would be an exceptionally odd fit https://twitter.com/...
@rotopat Patrick Daugherty on x
Who can give the don the biggest cut? https://twitter.com/...
@carlquintanilla Carl Quintanilla on x
PRIMACK: “Multiple sources tell me that Apple has expressed interest, albeit no sources inside of Apple, and that at least one other strategic has expressed interest.” $AAPL https://twitter.com/...
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
The view from Microsoft is that a bad process that will lead to the good outcome re TikTok. But I keep thinking about Trump saying Microsoft should pay the Tresasury because he's forcing a sale, and this “bad process” seems like a legit danger to democracy https://www.theverge.co…
@bobdavis187 Bob Davis on x
Great reconstruction of what happened within the Trump admin and at Microsoft. A deal for TikTok is on the horizon. Trump had to be convinced to ditch the Navarro position. https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
@pardesseleh Pardes Seleh on x
We don't want the Chinese to have access to data on TikTok, so we're gonna make sure Microsoft owns it instead? This seems like a PR stunt to make people feel safer from Chinese data mining... but there's no way the “Top Ten” company in China isn't still regulated by the Chinese …
@techlinkedyt TechLinked on x
The Tok is Tik-ing... https://www.reuters.com/...

Chronicles

With a TikTok sale, China would lose control of its first global internet sensation, hardening suspicions that the US is sabotaging its tech growth

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