US President Donald Trump has signed executive orders banning popular Chinese apps like TikTok and WeChat, terming them a threat to national security and to the country’s economy. The ban comes into effect in 45 days.
India was the first country to ban TikTok and WeChat, citing national security concerns. India has banned as many as 106 Chinese apps.
In a communique to the Congress, the US President said the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by the companies in China continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the country.
He said, TikTok, a video-sharing mobile application owned by the Chinese company ByteDance Ltd, automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users.
To deal with this threat, President Trump delegated power to the Commerce Secretary to take such actions, including adopting appropriate rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by International Emergency Economic Powers Act as may be necessary to implement the order.
The order also directs all departments and agencies to take all appropriate measures within their authority to implement the order.
In separate executive order, Trump said WeChat, a messaging, social media, and electronic payment application owned by the Chinese company Tencent Holdings Ltd.
