Microsoft Corp. is exploring an acquisition of TikTok’s operations in the U.S., according to a people familiar with the matter. A deal would give the software company a popular social-media service and relieve U.S. government pressure on the Chinese owner of the video-sharing app. Trump administration has been weighing whether to direct China-based ByteDance Ltd. to divest its stake in TikTok’s U.S. operations, according to several people familiar with the issue. The U.S. has been investigating potential national security risks due to the Chinese company’s control of the app.

A deal with Microsoft could potentially help extract ByteDance from the political war between the U.S. and China. “Of particular concern, both Zoom and TikTok have sought to conceal and distract from their meaningful ties to China, holding themselves out as American companies. This concealment is alarming – Chinese tech firms are notoriously bound to draconian intelligence laws, media regulations, and extrajudicial pressure that compels them to censor and spy for China”s state security services,” the Senators said.

But in India Right after the government banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, users scrambled to find alternatives as these apps had made inroads into the lives of millions of Indians. TikTok itself had become a source of income for many content makers, especially young. Their online fame disappeared overnight. and one of them is Chingari app which is in talks with a global VC firm after the TikTok rival gets lit with over 10 million downloads⁠.