Trump Signs Orders To Ban Tik Tok, WeChat In The US

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump has signed two separate executive orders banning popular Chinese apps like TikTok and WeChat, terming them a threat to the 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, a move welcomed by both the Trump administration and the US lawmakers.

In a communique to the Congress, Trump 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.

"At this time, the order takes action to address one mobile application in particular, TikTok," he said.

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 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. TikTok may also be used for disinformation campaigns that benefit the Chinese Communist Party, Trump said.