The Trump administration will ban two Chinese-owned social media applications from doing business with the United States.
The Commerce Department will prohibit WeChat and TikTok transactions to protect the national security of the United States.
In a press release, the department said, “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. Today’s announced prohibitions, when combined, protect users in the U.S. by eliminating access to these applications and significantly reducing their functionality.”
As of Sunday, September 20th, the bans will go into effect which will prohibit U.S. users from downloading the applications.
“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,” said U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “At the President’s direction, we have taken significant action to combat China’s malicious collection of American citizens’ personal data, while promoting our national values, democratic rules-based norms, and aggressive enforcement of U.S. laws and regulations.”
In August, President Trump signed an Executive Order regarding the threats of the Chinese owned applications which caused several US-based companies to consider purchasing TikTok from owner ByteDance.
Currently, a partnership between Oracle and Walmart is the frontrunner to purchase TikTok to keep it afloat in the US Market (MarketWatch):
Under the latest plan for TikTok, Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc. could together own a significant stake, according to people familiar with the situation. That move, if combined with existing American investors, could put majority ownership in U.S. hands, the people said.
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Trump administration officials have pushed for majority U.S. ownership of TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd. That goal could be met under the proposal for Oracle alone, or together with Walmart, to take significant ownership stakes. Their participation, together with existing U.S.-based ByteDance investors like Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic and Coatue Management LLC, could push U.S. ownership in the new entity above 50%.
