Does Amazon really want to buy TikTok?

For a few months now, a hypothesis has been circulating that seems almost surreal: Amazon might be ready to take a big step and acquire TikTok. Yet, looking at recent developments, this prospect appears less far-fetched than one might think. In September, as recently revealed, the House Select Committee on China summoned some Amazon representatives to Capitol Hill for a closed-door meeting about the increasingly close ties between the two companies, which have raised significant security and privacy concerns for the United States. Specifically, Amazon executives were asked to address a partnership with TikTok launched in August, as reported by Forbes, which allows users to search for and buy Amazon products directly on TikTok without leaving the app. Shoppers can make purchases while comfortably scrolling through the platform's For You Page, aiming to transform the shopping experience into a continuous and immersive flow. Moreover, to make the process even more seamless, accounts remain synchronized for future purchases.

The joint venture is part of Amazon's broader plan to boost in-app shopping, aiming to make social media shopping more convenient. This initiative, already underway through similar agreements with Meta and Pinterest, provides Jeff Bezos's multinational with the opportunity to finally reach its missing target: Gen Z. Not coincidentally, this is the generation most responsive to viral content and influencers—a potential only TikTok can fully exploit. For TikTok, the deal is a way to compete with online shopping giants like Shein and Temu, both Chinese. But it doesn’t stop there: the agreement with Amazon gives TikTok greater credibility in the United States, especially during a sensitive period, with the government pushing to ban the app due to its ties to China. A law signed in April will effectively shut down the platform nationwide starting next year unless ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, agrees to sell the service to an American company by January 19. Within this context, Amazon has been viewed as the ideal buyer. If ByteDance refuses to divest its U.S. operations, TikTok risks becoming the first foreign social media app to be banned in the U.S.

This is where the concerns of the House Select Committee arise: seeing a giant like Amazon, central to the U.S. economy and tied to the Department of Defense, coming dangerously close to a Chinese-owned company that might be blacked out over national security issues. Amazon is not alone in this path: in recent months, many other American companies have initiated collaborations with TikTok, and the list is long. Just last week, there was also an agreement with LTK, a popular shopping app that allows users to purchase products recommended by influencers and content creators, who earn through affiliate commissions. Amazon, for its part, has long been one of TikTok's top advertisers, but some suspect the partnership was calculated to thwart the TikTok ban in the U.S. Although there are currently no official statements regarding a possible acquisition, it is clear that the collaboration between the two platforms could slow down government measures. Additionally, newly elected President Donald Trump has stated that he will oppose the ban and may act to prevent it. In such a shifting scenario, every hypothesis remains up in the air. If TikTok were indeed to end up in Amazon’s hands, the separation between entertainment and shopping would further dissolve—but with what effects on privacy and competition in the digital market?