“It’s a poison chalice,” Gates says about the deal

Aug 9, 2020 06:20 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is set to take over TikTok, with an announcement expected by September 15, but for the company’s co-founder Bill Gates, who’s now just an adviser for the software giant, this is a really risky move.

And it’s because managing a social network is no easy business, with Bill Gates explaining while it’s a good thing that the market is becoming more competitive, Microsoft taking over TikTok is a “poison chalice.”

“Who knows what’s going to happen with that deal. But yes, it’s a poison chalice. Being big in the social media business is no simple game, like the encryption issue,” Bill Gates said in an interview with Wired. “I think that the game being more competitive is probably a good thing. But having Trump kill off the only competitor, it’s pretty bizarre.”

Bill Gates already knows how he can contribute to making TikTok even bigger in the social network market: by sharing his dance moves on the service.

“My critique of dance moves will be fantastically value-added for them,” he joked.

Negotiations still underway

While Microsoft and TikTok are expected to reach an agreement by September 15, negotiations are still underway between the Redmond-based software giant and ByteDance, the Chinese owner of the service. The United States government is also involved in the talks, with President Donald Trump emphasizing that unless a takeover deal is decided, TikTok would just be banned in the United States.

This approach wasn’t received well by China, who warned that it just won’t sit and watch one of its most popular services being taken over by the United States.

Chinese authorities suggested retaliation might be possible, and many believe Apple could be a possible target.

It remains to be seen how everything ends, but at this point, it’s all just a matter of time until TikTok becomes a Microsoft-owned company.