![]() In fact, there are around 19 million WeChat users in the United States alone. In addition to its unrivaled popularity in China, the app also has a huge following among the global Chinese diaspora, many of whom depend on the app to maintain family and social ties with loved ones in China. The app is by far mainland China’s most popular social messaging app, with an estimated monthly user base of more than 1 billion people. WeChat is a social messaging app developed by the Chinese tech giant Tencent. Towards the end of his presidency in late 2020, President Trump further intensified the ongoing trade war between the two countries by signing two executive orders, which effectively banned the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat and the popular Chinese social media app TikTok from operating in the United States, due to national security and data privacy concerns. TikTok's interim US CEO Vanessa Pappas tweeted on Friday morning asking tech companies like Facebook to support the company's litigation.During the Trump presidency, U.S.-China relations reached their lowest point in decades as the United States imposed significant import tariffs on Chinese goods and products. Last month, ByteDance, the Beijing-based company that owns TikTok, sued the Trump administration and challenged the ban in a federal court. In early August, Trump signed an executive order declaring TikTok as a “national emergency,” saying that it would be effectively banned from the country in 45 days unless a US company bought its American operations. We will continue to challenge the unjust executive order, which was enacted without due process and threatens to deprive the American people and small businesses across the US of a significant platform for both a voice and livelihoods."Īpple and Google did not respond to a request for comment. 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. The statement further added: In our proposal to the US Administration, 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. "Our community of 100 million US users love TikTok because it's a home for entertainment, self-expression, and connection, and we’re committed to protecting their privacy and safety as we continue working to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create on our platform. "We disagree with the decision from the Commerce Department, and are disappointed that it stands to block new app downloads from Sunday and ban use of the TikTok app in the US from November 12," said a TikTok spokesperson in a statement. TikTok said that it did not agree with the administration. “Today’s actions prove once again that President Trump will do everything in his power to guarantee our national security and protect Americans from the threats of the Chinese Communist Party,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement. This combination results in the use of WeChat and TikTok creating unacceptable risks to our national security." ![]() Each is an active participant in China’s civil-military fusion and is subject to mandatory cooperation with the intelligence services of the CCP. "Each collects vast swaths of data from users, including network activity, location data, and browsing and search histories. “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has demonstrated the means and motives to use these apps to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the U.S.,” a press release from the Commerce Department stated. If you already have TikTok downloaded on your phone, it will continue to work at least until Nov. 12, which means that existing users will no longer be able to access TikTok videos after that date. TikTok will face similar restrictions starting on Nov. WeChat, an app popular with Chinese nationals in the United States, will also be banned from hosting content, processing payments within the US, and sending money to other WeChat users in the country among other restrictions. Both apps are used by over 100 million people in the country.Īccording to a US Department of Commerce order, new downloads of the apps will be banned from US app stores as of Sept. The Trump administration said Friday that it will block people in the United States from downloading popular Chinese-owned apps TikTok and WeChat starting Sunday night.
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