archive.is link

Amazon has put in a last-minute bid to acquire all of TikTok, the popular video app, as it approaches an April deadline to be separated from its Chinese owner or face a ban in the United States, according to three people familiar with the bid.

Various parties who have been involved in the talks do not appear to be taking Amazon’s bid seriously, the people said. The bid came via an offer letter addressed to Vice President JD Vance and Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, according to a person briefed on the matter.

Amazon’s bid highlights the 11th-hour maneuvering in Washington over TikTok’s ownership. Policymakers in both parties have expressed deep national security concerns over the app’s Chinese ownership, and passed a law last year to force a sale of TikTok that was set to take effect in January.

  • Hisnitch@beehaw.org
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    1 day ago
    1. I don’t believe that it would apply in this case, as tiktok isn’t the only video media sharing platform in the USA. If amazon was buying all of video media platforms, that would be cause for concern.
    2. Yeah, there was. America also explicitly voted that they didn’t want fair competition at all. We’re just getting what we deserve.
    • gonzo-rand19@moist.catsweat.com
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      1 day ago

      I don’t think that you understand this very well. You definitely don’t need a monopoly in the video media platform space in order to restrict competition to an unfair degree. For example, the forced sale of Fox Sports to Bally in 2021 by the courts in order to retain a small modicum of competition in broadcasting despite the existence of other networks. Maybe you should look into it a bit more before you declare it’s not an issue?

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_antitrust_law