Originally published at: https://tidbits.com/2020/07/31/a-quick-rundown-of-big-techs-showdown-with-congress/
CEOS of four of the biggest companies in tech, including Apple’s Tim Cook, recently appeared before Congress to answer questions about their business practices. Here’s a roundup of the coverage.
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Thanks for this coverage! Very much looking forward to your forthcoming analysis of Apple.
I have mixed feelings about Apple. They do so much awesome. And they do appear to champion our privacy. But they also have a track record of anti competitive behavior. Sometimes you can justify it by their ecosystem and creating a high quality experience within the walled garden. But other times they create restrictions that have no justification other than profit motive.
Looking forward to following this!
Same mixed feelings here. The good they do is great. But they can also be ***holes. And when they are, their holier than though act is just obnoxious.
Anyone thought it was weird that Microsoft was absent? Not that long ago, they were the epitome of evil giant tech company. Now, they are completely forgotten – a has been evil empire.
Maybe that’s why they want to buy TikTok.
They learned to keep their mouths shut after the devastating US vs. Microsoft antitrust suit they lost:
Except for gaming, Microsoft isn’t exactly a top tier player in consumer services for kids and young adults. In fact, they haven’t been very good at non gaming entertainment across the board. This market is an extremely valuable one in the US economy, and Facebook, Apple, Google and so many other companies are raking in big bucks from this niche, especially among teens. But oh how they have tried…Zune, Nokia, MS Stores, etc. They have been salivating over the kids, young adult and entertainment markets for decades, and they’ve done extremely well with their business focused social media LinkedIn acquisition. And MS has always lusted at being a major player in the ad sales business, even though Bing never set the world on fire.
If they don’t blow it, TikTok could be a great acquisition for their portfolio. But Facebook and other major players reputedly have competing services in late stage development, so there is a chance that TikTok could end up like MySpace.
Facebook just announced its TikTok competitor:
And TikTok is understandably not happy about it. Microsoft can probably negotiate a better deal.
I also agree with Lisa Li that rumors flying around about Apple being interested in TikTok are not likely:
(Disclaimer: I am not a Fox News fan, but Fox Business is pretty reliable.)
Apple was quick to deny any interest in TikTok.
As for why Microsoft wants TikTok, the simple answer is that Nadella wants to bring the next generation into the Microsoft fold. It’s the same reason Microsoft paid over $1 billion for Minecraft.
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It looks like there’s a rival suitor for TikTok: