Microsoft Lost the TikTok Battle Because It Called the Service a Security Threat

ByteDance won’t sell the U.S. operations of TikTok to Microsoft, as the Chinese company picked Oracle as its “trusted tech partner,” and now more information emerges on the reasons the Redmond-based software firm lost the battle for the video-sharing service.

Despite being considered in pole position to buy TikTok, Microsoft is believed to have angered ByteDance’s CEO Zhang Yiming when it described the Chinese service as a security threat that it wants to fix by moving the data to the United States.

A report from the Daily Mail reveals that Zhang didn’t like Microsoft’s approach, especially because it also sided with President Trump during the negotiations.

Microsoft said in an August announcement that it continued takeover talks with ByteDance, but also agreed to involve U.S. officials in the discussions.

“Microsoft will move quickly to pursue discussions with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, in a matter of weeks, and in any event completing these discussions no later than September 15, 2020. During this process, Microsoft looks forward to continuing dialogue with the United States Government, including with the President,” the company said. “Microsoft appreciates the U.S. Government’s and President Trump’s personal involvement as it continues to develop strong security protections for the country.”

ByteDance became unresponsive

In an announcement this week, Microsoft confirmed that ByteDance rejected its bid, and the aforementioned source reveals that the Chinese company became unresponsive lately, especially as the pressure from American officials increased.

“ByteDance let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft. We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests. To do this, we would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combatting disinformation, and we made these principles clear in our August statement. We look forward to seeing how the service evolves in these important areas,” Microsoft said.

President Trump is expected to make a decision on the ByteDance – Oracle collaboration this week.