Imran Yaqub
New York
President Donald Trump issued executive orders that would ban globally famous social media applications WeChat and TikTok. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “firmly opposes” the executive orders .TikTok also threatened legal action against this executive order.
President Trump issued executive orders late Thursday night that would ban WeChat and TikTok, the short-form video app owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, from operating in the United States in 45 days if they are not sold by their parent companies. Trump had already said that he would ban TikTok if a deal for the app is not reached with an American company, but the inclusion of WeChat indicates that Washington is broadening its efforts to restrict some Chinese apps from operating in the United States. The moves to ban TikTok and WeChat represent an “unprecedented intervention by the US government in the consumer technology sector,” according to Paul Triolo, head of geotechnology at Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy.
It also marks the first time the government “has attempted to ban a software application running on millions of mobile phones” in the United States, Triolo wrote in a note on Friday.
WeChat is the overseas version of Tencent’s widely popular Chinese messaging app Weixin. The app provides a range of services, including instant messaging and the ability to send money to other users.
According to the order, a ban would apply to “any transaction that is related to WeChat” made by any person or “any property” subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday said it “firmly opposes” the executive orders targeting WeChat and TikTok. “The United States is using national security as an excuse and using state power to oppress non-American businesses,” ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a daily press briefing, accusing the United States of “political manipulation and oppression.”
TikTok said it was “shocked” by Trump’s order and warned that it “sets a dangerous precedent for the concept of free expression and open markets.” The company said it will “pursue all remedies available to us.”
A Tencent spokesperson, meanwhile, said the company “is reviewing the executive order to get a full understanding.” TikTok threatened legal action against an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that would ban the Chinese social media app from doing business with U.S. firm.
