Walmart's Original TikTok Ownership Plan Was to Partner With Alphabet

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) became the surprise frontrunner in the race to acquire TikTok after partnering with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), but it actually had plans to be the lead buyer of the online video-sharing site. CNBC said the retailer was slated to be the majority owner in a consortium of buyers that included Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Japan's Softbank, but the U.S. government shot the idea down, saying a tech company needed to lead the buying since it was forcing the sale over national security concerns. TikTok has exploded in popularity on social media, but the video-sharing app had been collecting user data surreptitiously behind a layer of encryption, a process The Wall Street Journal notes is banned by Alphabet's Android operating system. Read More...