from Hacker News

Amazon Submits Bid for TikTok with US Sale Deadline Nearing

by frutiger on 4/2/25, 5:18 PM with 84 comments

  • by Beijinger on 4/2/25, 6:27 PM

    Amazon has become an unreliable company. Opaque return practices, overbilling and break of contract have become common.

    "TikTok Shop is an integrated e-commerce platform within the TikTok app that allows users to shop directly from videos, live streams, and profiles."

    Amazon just tries to destroy a competitor. We can only hope that authorities won't allow an acquisition by Amazon (EU maybe?).

    I personally still use Amazon, but often use ebay. I don't use TikTok. I found the acquisition of Abebooks by Amazon long time ago already unfortunate.

  • by dkjaudyeqooe on 4/2/25, 6:04 PM

    This is all pointless since TikTok's parent has said it won't sell and is very likely being menaced by the PRC in this respect.

  • by pvg on 4/2/25, 5:23 PM

  • by siliconc0w on 4/2/25, 5:46 PM

    It's crazy to me that TikTok is still operating. A law was passed, the supreme court even weighed in, and a EO cannot undo that. The president has an obligation to faithfully execute the law.

  • by moralestapia on 4/2/25, 6:21 PM

    Any idea on how much they offered?

  • by blitzar on 4/2/25, 6:01 PM

    The whole affair is/has been pretty tawdry, American Oligarchs trying to outbid each other for it is just the cherry on top.

  • by afavour on 4/2/25, 5:56 PM

    Depressing but inevitable. TikTok is too big for anyone other than a giant to buy it. But it does make me wonder about Bezos’s recent Trump-admin friendly moves, particularly with the Washington Post. An attempt to curry favor for this purchase? Entirely possible.

  • by nimbius on 4/2/25, 6:15 PM

    im frankly a little dumbfounded at the state of the tiktok "ban" in the USA.

    Bytedance has been absolutely adamant that it cannot, and will not sell. This has not stopped droves of American politicians from stepping forward and insisting they can facilitate the sale, find buyers, begin negotiations, draft contracts, review and finalize deals, you name it...

    Nothing has changed. Bytedance will. not. sell. if history is any indication, Trump will kick the can down the road a little further with another 90 day delay. This is after all, arguably, the platform that helped him win a presidency. banning it is pointless, as in the first day of the ban nearly every US user flocked to other chinese social media platforms.

  • by theyinwhy on 4/2/25, 6:06 PM

    Never thought I will see this country cheering expropriation in my lifetime.

  • by jeffwask on 4/2/25, 5:36 PM

    Makes sense, Bezos is the only oligarch without a pet social media app.

  • by walterbell on 4/2/25, 5:44 PM

    TikTok hired former TLA officers (2022), https://www.scrippsnews.com/science-and-tech/social-media/ti...

      The U.S. intelligence community sees China as its top threat. But Americans who have left intelligence agencies are getting jobs at TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.. the lines between business and government get blurred in China, in part because of Beijing's national intelligence law, which compels citizens and businesses to share information with state intelligence-gathering efforts.. America's freedoms give China an advantage.