Its to be implemented Sunday, comes amid rising US-China tensions and efforts by the Trump administration to engineer a sale of TikTok to American investors.
The initiative to ban WeChat app with massive use among Chinese speakers, and TikTok from the online marketplaces operated by Apple and Google.
The Chinese Communist Party has demonstrated the means and motives to use these apps to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the US
But while WeChat will effectively be shut down from Sunday in the US, existing TikTok user will be able to continue using the app until November 12 — when it would also face a full ban on its US operations.
But the Commerce Department said if national security concerns on TikTok were resolved before then, the order may be lifted.
TikTok’s brand of brief, quirky videos made on users’ cellphones has become hugely popular, especially among young people.
The plan follows through on a threat by President Donald Trump, who has claimed Chinese tech operations may be used for spying, and it ramps up the pressure on TikTok parent ByteDance to conclude a deal to sell all or part of TikTok to allay US security concerns.
