US TikTok ban: Why Facebook, Google should be worried by Trump's moves

The decision opens a Pandora's Box that digital platforms might one day wish had been kept closed

Be careful what you wish for.

You might think that the Trump administration banning Chinese ownership of video-sharing app TikTok in the US on national security grounds would be a win for social-media competitors such as Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Twitter Inc. Selling Bytedance Inc.’s operations in several major English-speaking markets to Microsoft Corp. raises the hope that TikTok might suffer the sort of benign neglect that’s neutered other Microsoft-owned media assets, such as LinkedIn and Skype. Facebook lost no time in launching a copycat video-sharing service to compete.

The decision opens a Pandora’s Box that digital platforms might