The bans on messaging app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok are less sweeping than expected and affect only new downloads
The Trump administration will ban WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok from US app stores starting Sunday night, a move that will block Americans from downloading the Chinese-owned platforms over concerns they pose a national security threat.
The bans affect only new downloads and updates and are less sweeping than expected, particularly for TikTok.
It gives TikTok’s parent group ByteDance some breathing space to clinch an agreement over the fate of its US operations.
WeChat, an all-in-one messaging, social media and electronic payment app with an average of 19 million daily active users in the US, faces more severe restrictions from Sunday.
On the other hand, the 100 million existing TikTok users in the US will see little change until November 12 when a ban on some technical transactions will kick in, affecting its functionality.
The basic TikTok will stay intact until November 12, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox Business Network.
TikTok expressed “disappointment” over the move and said it would continue to challenge President Donald Trump’s “unjust executive order”.
We’re committed to protecting (users’) their privacy and safety as we continue working to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create on our platform, it said in a statement.
We’ve already committed to unprecedented levels of additional transparency and accountability well beyond what other apps are willing to do, including third-party audits, verification of code security, and US government oversight of US data security. Further, an American technology provider would be responsible for maintaining and operating the TikTok network in the US, which would include all services and data serving US consumers, it said.
Tencent, which owns WeChat, said the restrictions were “unfortunate, but given our desire to provide ongoing services to our users in the US, will continue to discuss with the government and other stakeholders in the US ways to achieve a long-term solution.”
The ban on new US downloads of the widely popular app could still be rescinded by Mr Trump before it takes effect if ByteDance seals a deal with California tech giant Oracle that addresses concerns about the security of its users’ data.
The Trump administration has ramped up efforts to purge “untrusted” Chinese apps from US digital networks amid escalating tensions with Beijing on a range of issues from trade and human rights to the battle for tech supremacy.
The ban on WeChat, used by over 1 billion people worldwide, bars the transfer of funds or processing of payments to or from people in the United States through it.
Officials said the ban on the popular apps was “to combat China’s malicious collection of American citizens’ personal data”.