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    Walmart May Join Microsoft In Bid For TikTok

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1836 Views
    In this July 21, 2020 file photo, a man opens social media app 'TikTok' on his cell phone, in Islamabad, Pakistan. Walmart said Thursday, Aug. 27, that it's interested in teaming up with Microsoft to buy the U.S. business of TikTok, the popular Chinese video app. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File)

    By Joseph Pisani & Zen Soo,  AP Technology Writers

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    Walmart said Thursday it may join Microsoft to buy the U.S. business of TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned video app that has come under fire from the Trump administration. 

    Microsoft and TikTok declined to comment Thursday. 

    TikTok, through its fun, goofy videos, has gained hundreds of millions of users globally. But the U.S. is pushing its Chinese owner to sell the U.S. business if it wants to keep operating in the country. 

    Walmart said in a statement that a deal with Microsoft and TikTok could help it expand its advertising business and reach more shoppers.

    The Trump administration is forcing a sale of TikTok's U.S. operations because of its Chinese ownership and has threatened to ban the app, which TikTok says has 100 million U.S. users, citing national-security concerns. TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, has sued to stop the ban, but not the sale order. Microsoft has confirmed discussions with TikTok; other tech companies such as Oracle are also reportedly interested in a possible acquisition. 

    TikTok, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, says it is willing to pursue a sale of its U.S. operations and has threatened legal action if it's not treated fairly.

    U.S. authorities are concerned that TikTok would turn over user data to Chinese authorities and that it censors content that would upset China. TikTok denies that it has shared user data with the Chinese government and would not do so if asked, nor censored videos at Chinese authorities' request, and says it is not a national-security threat.

    The sale situation has been unusual, with President Donald Trump demanding payment for the U.S. government for its part in orchestrating a deal, a step that experts say is unprecedented. The president said on Aug. 18 that Oracle was "a great company" that "could handle" buying TikTok. He declined to state a preference between Oracle and Microsoft as buyers.

    Over past year, TikTok has tried to put distance between its app and its Chinese ownership. It installed a former top Disney executive as its American CEO — who left after just a few months — and also named two other Americans chief security officer and general counsel. 

    Microsoft and Walmart are already business partners, with Microsoft providing cloud computing services that help run the retailer's stores and online shopping. The two companies signed a 5-year partnership in 2018, enabling them to join forces against shared rival Amazon.

    Category:News
    Tags:ByteDanceMicrosoftTikTokWalmart



    Jacob Elordi Is On A Roll With Roles For Directors Sofia Coppola, Guillermo del Toro and Paul Schrader

    Thursday, December 19, 2024

    Jacob Elordi is suddenly everywhere in Hollywood — so much so that he thinks he must be dreaming.

    Amid a remarkable streak of high-profile projects with respected filmmakers — Sofia Coppola's "Priscilla," Guillermo del Toro's upcoming adaptation of "Frankenstein" and, in theaters now, Paul Schrader's "Oh, Canada" — the 27-year-old isn't taking his success for granted.

    "I don't want to be so arrogant as to say like, you know, 'I choose what is befitting of me,'" he said in an exclusive interview. "I'm very grateful because to say you choose these things sort of seems too conscious or something. I kind of am in a constant state of like, 'Wake me up from this.'"

    "Oh, Canada" tells the story of Leonard Fife (Richard Gere), an acclaimed documentarian on his deathbed who, in what becomes a final act of confession, agrees to have the cameras turned toward him for a documentary about his own life.

    Elordi plays a young Fife in the film, based on Russell Banks' 2021 novel, "Foregone." Despite their physical differences, Elordi's performance as a younger Gere is believable, thanks in part to the amount of effort he put into studying Gere's mannerisms.

    "Richard has such a rich career of films and a really diverse range of films so there was a lot to watch and just kind of copy him, you know? Like Simon Says or something," Elordi said. "The best one for physicality was 'American Gigolo,' because I think he was 29 or something when he made that film. So, it's, you know, not far from where I am now."

    Schrader is not known for making big-budget blockbusters. And while the filmmaker has reaped critical praise throughout his prolific career, he's made his share of panned flops.

    But that hasn't stopped the 78-year-old from... Read More

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