Microsoft to continue talks to buy TikTok's US operations

BBC NEWS

US tech giant Microsoft has confirmed that it is continuing talks to purchase the US operations of Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok.

Microsoft boss Satya Nadella had a conversation with President Donald Trump about the acquisition on Sunday, the tech firm said.

Microsoft stressed that it "fully appreciates the importance" of addressing President Trump's concerns.

A full security review of the app will be conducted, the company added.

Microsoft will also have to provide the US government with a list of the "proper economic benefits" to the country, it said in a?blog post.

The tech giant hopes to conclude discussions with TikTok's parent firm ByteDance by 15 September.

Microsoft said it was looking to purchase the TikTok service in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and would operate the app in these markets.

The tech firm added that it "may" invite other American investors to participate in the purchase "on a minority basis".

Microsoft emphasised that it would ensure that "all private data of TikTok's American users" was transferred to and remained in the US.

Further, it would ensure that any data currently stored or backed up outside the country would be deleted from servers after it was transferred to US data centres.

It also said that Microsoft "appreciates the US Government's and President Trump's personal involvement as it continues to develop strong security protections for the country."

But the tech giant added that current discussions were still in the "preliminary" stage, and as such there was "no assurance" that the purchase would proceed.

preliminary ?/pr??l?m?n?ri/ ?

ADJ.~ (to sth) happening before a more important action or event 預(yù)備性的；初步的；開始的??N.~ (to sth) a preliminary is an action or event that is done in preparation for sth 初步行動(dòng)（或活動(dòng)）；預(yù)備性措施

Government concerns

A possible sale of TikTok's US operations to Microsoft was thought to be on hold after Donald Trump vowed to ban the video-sharing app, according to a?Wall Street Journal report.

The potential sale was had been seen close to agreement but was put in doubt after the US president's warning on Friday.

And on Sunday, US Secretary of State?Mike Pompeo announced that President Trump?would take action "in the coming days" against Chinese-owned software?that he believed to pose a national security risk.

US Secretary of State:美國國務(wù)卿? ? ??Mike Pompeo邁克·蓬佩奧

Speaking to Fox News, Mr Pompeo said the action would be taken "with respect to?a broad array of national security risks that are presented by software connected to the C Communist Party".

a broad array of ：一系列

Short-form video app TikTok is thought to have about half a billion active users worldwide - and about 80 million in the US - with a huge proportion of these in their teens or early 20s.

Some US politicians are worried the app's Chinese owner ByteDance poses a risk to national security because it could be used to collect Americans' personal data. Regulators have also raised their own safety concerns.

Late on Friday, Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One: "As far as TikTok is concerned we're banning them from the United States."

And in a statement on Saturday, a White House spokesman said: "The administration has very serious national security concerns over TikTok. We continue to evaluate future policy."

The Wall Street Journal said ByteDance tried to make significant concessions to the White House, including creating of thousands of jobs over three years.

make significant concessions ：做出巨大的讓步

concession n. /k?n?se?n/ ?

1.[ CU ] something that you allow or do, or allow sb to have, in order to end an argument or to make a situation less difficult 讓步；妥協(xié)??to win a concession from sb 取得某人的讓步??a major/an important concession 重大的讓步

2.[ U ] the act of giving sth or allowing sth; the act of conceding 承認(rèn)；給予；許可；讓步??the concession of university status to some colleges 對某些學(xué)院升為大學(xué)的許可

3.減價(jià)；（對某類人的）減價(jià)票??tax concessions 稅收減免??Tickets are ￡3; there is a ￡1 concession for students. 票價(jià)為3英鎊，學(xué)生票減免1英鎊。

4.（尤指由政府或雇主給予的）特許權(quán)，優(yōu)惠??The Bolivian government has granted logging concessions covering 22 million hectares. 玻利維亞政府批準(zhǔn)了在2 200萬公頃土地上的伐木特許權(quán)。

5.（在某地的）特許經(jīng)營權(quán)；（有時(shí)為大型建筑物或商場中的）銷售場地，攤位??the burger concessions at the stadium 體育場內(nèi)的漢堡包小吃攤

A sale of the US operation to Microsoft, which owns LinkedIn, would give the US tech giant a far greater presence in social media, an area dominated by rivals. The value of TikTok's US arm has been put at between $15bn and $30bn (￡11bn-￡23bn).

According to the Financial Times, some executives at ByteDance believe Mr Trump's intervention may just be a negotiating ploy?to help Microsoft secure a better deal.

ploy n. /pl??/ ?~ (to do sth) words or actions that are carefully planned to get an advantage over sb else 計(jì)謀；策略；手法；花招

TikTok declined to discuss the possible Microsoft deal, but a spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday: "While we do not comment on rumours or speculation, we are confident in the long-term success of TikTok."

The statement re-iterated that the company was committed to protecting the privacy and safety of users.

reiterate /ri???t??re?t/ ?V-T If you reiterate something, you say it again, usually in order to emphasize it. 重申?? He reiterated his opposition to the creation of a central bank. 他重申了他對創(chuàng)辦中央銀行的反對。

'Bizarre'

bizarre?adj.??/b??zɑ?(r)/??very strange or unusual?極其怪誕的；異乎尋常的???a bizarre situation/incident/story?稀奇古怪的局勢╱事件╱故事???bizarre behaviour?古怪的行為

The move to ban TikTok comes at a time of heightened tensions between the Trump administration and the C government over a number of issues, including trade disputes and Beijing's handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

The president's announcement on Friday was criticised by some in the tech sector, including former Facebook chief security officer Alex Stamos, who questioned whether the move was spurred?by national security concerns.

Spur：教唆，鞭策，馬刺；以前文中提供詳細(xì)釋義

He tweeted: "This is getting bizarre. A 100% sale to an American company would have been considered a radical solution two week ago and, eventually, mitigates any reasonable data protection concerns. If the White House kills this we know this isn't about national security."

radical /?r?d?kl/ ?

1.concerning the most basic and important parts of sth; thorough and complete 根本的；徹底的；完全的??demands for radical reform of the law 徹底改變法律的要求??radical differences between the sexes 兩性間的根本差異

2.new, different and likely to have a great effect 全新的；不同凡響的

?radical ideas 不同凡響的觀點(diǎn)??radical proposals 有創(chuàng)見的建議

3.in favour of thorough and complete political or social change 激進(jìn)的；極端的

?the radical wing of the party 黨內(nèi)的激進(jìn)派??radical politicians/students/writers 激進(jìn)的政治家╱學(xué)生╱作家

4.?very good 很好；非常好? ?5.?激進(jìn)分子；游離基，自由基

mitigate?v.?/?m?t?ɡe?t/??[?VN]?(?formal?)?to make sth less harmful, serious, etc.?減輕；緩和

??action to mitigate poverty?減輕貧窮的行動(dòng)

Mr Trump was also criticised by the American Civil Liberties Union. "Banning an app that millions of Americans use to communicate with each other is a danger to free expression and is technologically impractical," said the ACLU's surveillance?and cybersecurity counsel, Jennifer Granick.

surveillance n. /s???ve?l?ns/ （對犯罪嫌疑人或可能發(fā)生犯罪的地方的）監(jiān)視

counsel?/?ka?nsl/?n. 法律顧問；忠告；商議；討論；決策vt. 建議；勸告vi. 商討；提出忠告

Cybersecurity：cyber-security 網(wǎng)絡(luò)安全

"Shutting one platform down, even if it were legally possible to do so, harms freedom of speech online and does nothing to resolve the broader problem of unjustified government surveillance," she said.

On Saturday, in a bid to reassure?TikTok's millions of US users,?Vanessa Pappas, the country's general manager said in a video message: "We're not going anywhere?.?.?. We're here for the long run.

reassure v. /?ri??????(r)/ ?/????(r)/ ?~ sb (about sth) to say or do sth that makes sb less frightened or worried 使…安心；打消…的疑慮

When it comes to safety and security, we're building the safest app because we know it's the right thing to do. So we appreciate the support."

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