- On Sunday, the US-based big tech confirmed that it was in negotiations with ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to buy the operations in the country and also in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand;
- But those plans seem to have grown, and quite a lot, in the last few days.
According to sources from the Financial Times, Microsoft is chasing a deal to buy all of TikTok’s global operation, which includes the app’s first growing market India, and also Europe.
On Sunday, the US-based big tech confirmed that it was in negotiations with ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to buy the operations in the country and also in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. But those plans seem to have grown, and quite a lot, in the last few days.
READ ALSO: Apple buys Mobeewave, whose technology turns phones into payment terminals
On the weekend before, U.S. President Donald Trump said he wanted to ban the app from the country. TikTok has been facing growing concerns over privacy and data security in several countries, such as the U.S. and, more recently, Australia.
Bytedance launched TikTok in 2017. The app has grown more popular during the pandemic, reaching the milestone of 2 billion downloads in April, according to Sensor Tower.
READ ALSO: Brazilian retailer Magazine Luiza acquires Canaltech, an online publisher
The Chinese company is considering a range of options for TikTok amid pressure from the United States to relinquish control of the app: the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. government panel which reviews deals by foreign acquirers for potential national security risks, has raised concerns about the safety of the personal data that TikTok handles under its Chinese owner.
In February, when the app hit a record of 113 million downloads, Brazil was the fastest-growing market for TikTok, just behind India.
