Washington: US President Donald Trump has signed executive orders banning TikTok and WeChat, terming the popular Chinese apps a threat to the country’s national security and economy.
The ban comes into effect in 45 days, Trump said in two separate executive orders signed on Thursday.
India was the first country to ban TikTok and WeChat, citing national security concerns. India has banned as many as 106 Chinese apps, a move welcomed by both the Trump administration and US lawmakers.
“The United States must take aggressive action against the owners of TikTok to protect our national security,” Trump said in his executive order. In his next executive order he said the country must take “aggressive action” against WeChat to protect America’s national security.
In a communique to the Congress, Trump said the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in China continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the country.
Trump noted that these risks have led other countries, including Australia and India, to begin restricting or banning the use of TikTok and WeChat. TikTok which has up to 80 million active monthly users in America – has exploded in popularity in recent years.
TikTok, a video-sharing mobile application owned by the Chinese company ByteDance Ltd, automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users, Trump said.
This data collection threatens to allow the ruling Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information – potentially allowing China to track the locations of federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage, he alleged.
TikTok also reportedly censors content that the Chinese Communist Party deems politically sensitive, such as content concerning protests in Hong Kong and China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. (PTI)
