US Twitter Initiates Preliminary Merger Talks with China's TikTok

WSJ Reports Twitter and TikTok Merger Talks Including US Operations
Bill Gates Calls TikTok Acquisition a "Poisoned Chalice"

[Asia Economy International Desk Reporter] Twitter has reportedly begun preliminary negotiations regarding a potential merger with TikTok, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 8th (local time).

The merger plan is said to include TikTok's U.S. operations, the newspaper reported.

However, WSJ added that it is not yet confirmed whether Twitter will pursue finalizing the merger deal with TikTok.

TikTok is facing pressure to exit from the U.S. market by the Donald Trump administration, citing concerns over "national security threats."

Previously, Microsoft (MS) has been in talks to acquire TikTok's U.S. and overseas operations.

On the 2nd, MS CEO Satya Nadella announced in a statement following a conversation with President Trump that "the TikTok acquisition negotiations will be completed by September 15 at the latest."

Meanwhile, Microsoft (MS) founder Bill Gates described MS's push to acquire TikTok as a "poisoned chalice" in an interview with the U.S. IT magazine Wired on the same day.

He said, "I don't know what will happen, but growing in the social media business is not a simple game."

Regarding President Donald Trump's "TikTok crackdown," he also pointed out, "It might be good that the social media game is becoming more competitive, but it is quite strange that President Trump is killing off the only competitor."

He further commented on President Trump's statement that MS should pay a large portion of TikTok acquisition profits to the U.S. Treasury, saying, "I agree that the principle of this deal is completely strange," and added, "Anyway, MS has to handle all of that."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.