TikTok/Microsoft Deal and the Future of Social Profiles
Tech companies throughout the world, but especially in the US, are on tenterhooks watching the potential TikTok/Microsoft deal and the future of social profiles. President Trump has made no secret of his desire to ban TikTok from operating in the United States, and the Department of Defense already issued advisories way back at the end of 2019 to the branches of the Armed Forces, a step backed up by the Senate’s recent bill banning TikTok on all government agency devices. While argued by the White House to be in the name of national security, the move to marginalize TikTok has been greatly criticized by the Chinese government. Microsoft has waded into this political maelstrom, with the intention of grabbing a piece of the pie for themselves.
Why Microsoft Wants TikTok
Over the past decade or so, Microsoft has oriented itself as the
‘business’-focused big tech brand (with the exception of its ailing XBox property). Microsoft wants the data from the estimated 800 million-strong userbase that TikTok boasts. Microsoft has pedigree in using user data from services such as Xbox Live to improve its future offerings. It has been speculated that Microsoft is working on a TikTok deal in order to be more of a presence in younger generations’ lives: while at school, US children are likelier to use Chromebooks, iOS devices, and Android, with Google Docs fulfilling their work application needs. They may never interact with a Microsoft product until entering the workplace, or possibly not even then as workplaces adapt to the skillsets of their younger members. TikTok represents an opportunity for Microsoft to market its products to Gen Z, and build a culture around the social media platform. TikTok video services can potentially compete with Amazon’s Twitch and Google’s YouTube in terms of game streaming, making TikTok stars of prominent Xbox players. TikTok’s AI and AR experiments could also augment Microsoft’s own projects. It is possible that a greater focus on AR will provide opportunities for avatar building apps like Bitmoji or Genies to integrate with the expanded platform.
The Biggest Problem with Microsoft’s Fractured TikTok Deal
Microsoft isn’t bidding for a global takeover of TikTok. It is only interested in purchasing the app’s operations in four countries: the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Nobody is sure quite how social networks are supposed to split up operations in different countries, and especially considering the national security concerns alleged by the United States government, it seems an unusual coincidence that these 4 countries make up the majority of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing pact, with the UK the only member nation not included. Regardless of the confusion around the timing, configuration, and even legality of this buyout, Trump has instituted a ticking clock on the deal with his executive order. The 100 million American TikTok users will find themselves separated from their beloved app on Sept 15 if a deal is not reached by ByteDance for another, non-Chinese company to take control of American operations.
What will happen to the social media world in the event of a deal being reached? Will digital avatars have a greater swing in a world where TikTok and Xbox Live are merged? What influence will avatars have over the personal experience of TikTok users? Depending on how the chips fall, this could either be another giant leap in the direction of the Metaverse, or a warning shot across the bow of Facebook and Twitter by an administration increasingly fed up of what it interprets as social media’s fundamental bias against GOP messaging.
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