TikTok's parent company turns-down Microsoft's purchase offer - Announces it's "partnering" with Oracle for its US operation

[Delicieuxz]

Update:

 

US government to review deal between TikTok and Oracle

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The Washington Post reported that Oracle had been chosen by ByteDance as a “technology partner” to allay US concerns, and Reuters quoted a source saying it would be a restructuring rather than a sale, with Oracle handling TikTok’s US user data. The source did not disclose how much of TikTok’s US operations ByteDance and its investors would continue to own.

 

TikTok Sale: ByteDance Partners With Oracle

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According to the source, Oracle is being brought on board as a tech partner and not as an outright buyer of TikTok's U.S. business. It's unclear whether Oracle will acquire a share in TikTok as a result of the partnership.

 

Representatives for TikTok and ByteDance declined to comment. A spokesperson for Oracle did not respond to a request for comment.

 

Oracle Wins Bid for TikTok’s U.S. Operation

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After rejecting Microsoft’s bid, ByteDance announced that it will partner with Oracle for TikTok’s U.S. operations. But it’s not clear exactly what that means: Will Oracle become the majority owner of TikTok’s U.S. operations? Or are the firms simply partnering to move TikTok to Oracle’s cloud servers?

 

We won’t find any answers from Oracle: The firm has yet to even acknowledge that a deal was made.

 

What is clear is why ByteDance turned down Microsoft: The software giant wanted to move TikTok’s source code to its U.S.-based Azure servers, including its core algorithms. But when China stepped in recently by refusing to export dual-use technologies, including those algorithms, outside of the country, Microsoft’s role was effectively ended. Oracle, meanwhile, was open to a much more limited partnership.

 

So, ByteDance has found a hoped-for solution that doesn't involve selling the company, and which might let it keep its algorithms in China or wherever they are.

 

 

 

Original report:

 

Microsoft statement on TikTok

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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.

 

Since TikTok launched a lawsuit against the US government over the executive order, alleging it disregarded due process, I was hoping they'd get a temporary injunction against the executive order until its merit could be evaluated by a judge - with there being the chance ByteDance wouldn't have to sell the company. If they've already decided to sell, then I wonder if they've abandoned the court case, or if it's about something else.

[BlazerBuddy]

Why don’t we just delete Tik Tok for good?? Who cares about it. The people who do care about are bad for the world and basically mindless zombies now. I don’t want China spying on me that is why I don’t have it.

[AndrewZScorpion]

2 minutes ago, BlazerBuddy said:

Why don’t we just delete Tik Tok for good?? Who cares about it. The people who do care about are bad for the world and basically mindless zombies now. I don’t want China spying on me that is why I don’t have it.

Yeah... some of the things people on it have been doing... it really needs to be deleted for their sake. And to save everyone else's sanity.

[WereCatf]

3 minutes ago, BlazerBuddy said:

Why don’t we just delete Tik Tok for good?? Who cares about it. The people who do care about are bad for the world and basically mindless zombies now. I don’t want China spying on me that is why I don’t have it.

"Only the things I like need to be allowed, delete all the things I don't like."

 

Yeah, not a particularly good argument there, mate.

[Delicieuxz]

4 minutes ago, BlazerBuddy said:

Why don’t we just delete Tik Tok for good?? Who cares about it. The people who do care about are bad for the world and basically mindless zombies now. I don’t want China spying on me that is why I don’t have it.

No doubt you don't use any Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, products or services, either. You'll get spied on a lot more with those.

[BlazerBuddy]

8 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

"Only the things I like need to be allowed, delete all the things I don't like."

 

Yeah, not a particularly good argument there, mate.

It’s for national security not for my sake. 

[BlazerBuddy]

7 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

No doubt you don't use any Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, products or services, either. You'll get spied on a lot more with those.

True but at least China isn't spying on me. I would rather have google spy on me then a enemy country.

[TempestCatto]

Too bad. We know Microsoft would have deleted it too.

[BlazerBuddy]

3 minutes ago, TempestCatto said:

Too bad. We know Microsoft would have deleted it too.

I don’t think Microsoft would have deleted it they probably would have used it to spy even more.

[S w a t s o n]

TBH Microsoft seems like a better choice than fucking Oracle to run the equivalent of a video based social network but sure

[williamcll]

Bytedance is selling it to oracle knowing that they will fuck it up so eventually the users will flock to other sites instead.

 

 

Also >inb4 thread lock due to politics.

[Ashleyyyy]

1 minute ago, valdyrgramr said:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-44948599

China threw a tantrum on how 3 foreign airlines worded the governance of Taiwan.   The only way they were able to continue doing business in China is by playing along with China's demand.   It's due to their internet laws of censorship.   What they do with other data is plausible, but China pretty much admitted to this and the rest they state is for "cyber security".

when did i say china's censorship is a good thing? also when did i say you don't have to bow down to chinese demands? all i said is that the USA is just as bad when it comes to spying on it's citizens and even citizens in other country's as china is. and that is true. 

[DrMacintosh]

18 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

China actually does indeed have laws in place that requires these companies to hand data over. 

Hmm, just like any other country. This "hand the data over" is not limited to China. The US does it and so does everyone else. It's kinda important that information be handed over when subpoenaed. 

 

18 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

The unknown, for the most part, is what is done with that data. 

It's pretty easy to deduce with what gets done with the data when you take a look at it.

 

What data does TikTok Collect?

• Location data when location services are enabled(typical for any app) 
• Your language (duh)
• account information such as your Name, any Biography info you have manually entered, a profile photo, what you look like, what you sound like (par for the course of any social media service)
• What videos you like (Dogs, eGirls, etc.)
• Videos you upload (that's the point of the app after all)
• Event logs (duh)

How is the data useful?

• It can improve the quality of service of the video AI (it can make you laugh/smile/etc.)
• It can deduce where you live (if you don't want it to, just turn off location services)
• It can send bug reports to the developers to improve the quality of the app (that's a good thing)
• You can be served ads with greater relevance to you (the app has to make money)

So with all of this in mind....you can say "China is spying on us", and that might be true. But everyone is spying on us. YouTube, Google, FaceBook, Twitter, and Reddit all have access to the same information. Are they national security risks? No. 

 

So why is TikTok being singled out as a security risk when it is doing nothing that anyone else isn't?

 

I'll tell you why, because the people in power do not like the way that TikTok can spread information and awareness quicker than any other platform.

 

The fact remains that there is 0 evidence proving wrong doing from TikTok. Until such evidence, I will interpret anyone that advocates for taking TikTok down as being a gullible puppet of the White House. 

 

It has always been easy to fool the west with McCarthyism. I refuse to fall for another "Red Scare." 

[Ashleyyyy]

6 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

As does Apple, but you literally just proved my point.   You can't go online without a corporation collecting your data in some way.   Apple, Google, MS, Huawei, Xiomi, Kaspersky, Bitdefnder, and more all collect data on you.   By buying something online your data is collected.   It's not spying you just didn't bother to read.

what are you even arguing? 

[DrMacintosh]

3 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

As does Apple

Do you realize that just because you say a thing, does not make it true. In what documentable and verifiable way does Apple spy on its users? Assuming you can find evidence that Apple does, what are they doing with that data? Selling it? Improving their services with it? Is that data being collected without user consent or is it a clearly marked toggle? Does that data leave the device or is it stored on the Secure Enclave for local access only. 

 

I'll save your breath. Significant Locations are optional and on top of that they are stored in the Secure Enclave and never leave your device. 

[DrMacintosh]

1 minute ago, Ashley said:

what are you even arguing? 

I think he's arguing that he doesn't like the internet  

[Ashleyyyy]

Just now, DrMacintosh said:

I think he's arguing that he doesn't like the internet  

indeed lmao

 

1 minute ago, valdyrgramr said:

The problem is that's just an assumption as unless you're there in house, or hacking the shit out of them, you're ignorant as to what they're doing with said data. 

do you have any proof that they are doing bad things? 

 

2 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

Well, you literally asked for a source about the Chinese Government's interferience in doing business in China.   Well, that was a source and proof that they do it.   They use data collections and check websites to verify that you're playing along with their censorship and other anticonsumer laws.   And, this just in water is wet!   I already said I don't trust governments when it comes to pretty much anything as they're all full of shit.

that was an example of the chinese state looking at publicly available information and making a law or some sort which all companies need to abide by. they didn't look at information a company based in china collected about their users, so it isn't relevant to this discussion. 

[DrMacintosh]

1 minute ago, valdyrgramr said:

The problem is that's just an assumption as unless you're there in house, or hacking the shit out of them, you're ignorant as to what they're doing with said data. 

You're right. They are assumptions. But they are reasonable assumptions that any rational person could deduce. You assuming that TikTok is being nefarious with the data they are collecting requires a bigger mental leap than saying that TikTok is collecting completely reasonable data and are using it to improve their service. 

 

You believe in a conspiracy but cannot prove it. All I have left to say to you is that simplest explanation is often the one that is true. 

[Ashleyyyy]

Just now, valdyrgramr said:

Well, you guys are calling data collection spying.   You argue that MS is bad because spying, actually data collecting.   But, you literally agreed to it.   So, it's not spying because you consented to data collection.   Every company you do business with does some variant of data collection.   You're treating MS as bad for data collecting, that people consent to, but won't acknowledge that Apple and others do it too.   My point is that you're arguing with ignornance, hypocrisy, and a bias.

i picked Microsoft as an example of another company tracking your every move. i called out the hypocrisy of complaining about tiktok and yet using Windows. again, i didn't argue that Microsoft is bad in any way, i just stated a fact. 

[DrMacintosh]

1 minute ago, Ashley said:

i picked Microsoft as an example of another company tracking your every move. i called out the hypocrisy of complaining about tiktok and yet using Windows. again, i didn't argue that Microsoft is bad in any way, i just stated a fact. 

He's on his back foot and is attempting to deflect to alleviate pressure from is nonexistent argument. 

[Ashleyyyy]

1 minute ago, valdyrgramr said:

and have gone as far as arguing that tax dodging even is okay when they do it.  

source? 

 

2 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

You're putting Apple on a pedestal, and every other company is bad that isn't Apple.

neither of us have argued that any company mentioned here is bad. 

 

2 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

You are arguing that data collection = spying only when MS is doing it. 

when did either of us say that MS did something bad? i stated a fact, they track you. did i say it was bad? no. 

 

3 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

I don't hate the internet I hate fanboys.

i'm a fangirl 

 

1 minute ago, valdyrgramr said:

Which you can turn off before you even install the OS.   It's literally an option.   Just because you failed to read what you're argeeing to doesn't turn it into spying.   You're literally showing paranoia due to your ignornance.

except that even when you disable everything in the setup Microsoft still collects data. it's not me who'se ignorant, it's you. and when did i call Microsoft's behavior spying in this thread? i just sayd they trackyou/collect data. that does not = spying. 

[DrMacintosh]

6 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

Actually, I'm proving how biased both of you are. 

I don't see how me being a staunch supporter of Apple on this forum has any bearing on this new topic. 

 

I give everyone the benefit of the doubt whenever it is reasonable to do so. I have found in my experience that being hostile and immediately assuming the worst is an extremely toxic mindset and is detrimental to our society, our democracy, and to personal relationships.  

 

If you cannot argue your position without having to distract and go off on a red herring, then I suggest you rethink your position. 

[DrMacintosh]

1 minute ago, valdyrgramr said:

Hey, Apple's spying on me because I connected to the internent and they got the time dead on.   Hey, Apple are murders because their Apple Maps got me lost in the desert then I died of dehydration!

These are the words of crazy person. 

[TetraSky]

IMO, it's good that MS is not being selected. You just know they would've killed Tiktok within 6 months, somehow. I don't use the app and honestly think it's filled with garbage, but it doesn't mean I want it gone for a stupid reason like this, without proof.

 

iktok getting banned in the US without evidences of spying is frankly no worse than China banning so many apps, websites and others, while building a "great" firewall to "protect" its people from outside influence, like a good dictatorship in disguise. 
Even India is banning China apps these days... And for better reasons than the US. Since you can just bet that it's totally in part because Trump's ego got tickled after he got trolled by kids on tiktok for the Tulsa rally (even if they were in talk before that, it's safe to say that was the tipping point).

 

 

Ps. Can we NOT attack each others over Apple, of all unrelated things? Are you trying to give more work to our unpaid mods here?

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

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