WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order late Thursday prohibiting transactions with the parent company of the popular video-sharing app TikTok.
The order, set to take effect on September 20, bars Americans and U.S. companies from conducting transactions with the Chinese tech giant ByteDance, citing “national security” concerns. A separate executive order with the same conditions was also issued to WeChat, another Chinese-owned smartphone app.
Trump asserted in his order that the apps “capture vast swaths of information from its users” and their data collection “allows the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans personal and proprietary information.“
“The spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in the Peoples Republic of China (China) continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States,” Trump said in the order. “At this time, action must be taken to address the threat posed by one mobile application in particular, TikTok.”
The order comes as TikTok, which has become a viral sensation among American teens and young adults, has faced tough scrutiny over concerns that U.S. users personal information could fall into the hands of government officials in Beijing.
The Senate voted on Thursday to ban federal employees from downloadinRead More – Source
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