Politics & Government
Trump Administration To Ban TikTok, WeChat Downloads: Report
The ban is in response to an order issued by President Trump on Aug. 6 to purge "untrusted" Chinese apps from U.S. digital networks.
WASHINGTON, DC — The Trump administration plans to issue an order Friday banning new downloads of Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok in the United States, according to a report by Reuters citing a U.S. Commerce Department official. The ban will go into effect Sunday.
The Commerce Department order will “deplatform” the two apps in the United States and bar Apple Inc’s app store, Alphabet Inc’s Google Play and others from offering the apps on any platform “that can be reached from within the United States,” a senior Commerce official told Reuters.
The ban is in response to an order issued by Trump on Aug. 6 that gave the Commerce Department 45 days to determine what transactions to block from the apps he deemed pose a national security threat.
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The ban will not require existing TikTok and WeChat users to delete the apps; however, lack of updates will eventually degrade the apps' usability.
Find out what's happening in White Housefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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