US, China rift: Us bans Chinese technology giants: WeChat, Tiktok

 

The United States on Friday ordered a ban on downloads of popular video app TikTok and effectively blocked the use of the Chinese super-app WeChat on US national security grounds, escalating a fight with Beijing over digital technology.

Under the order, the Tencent-owned WeChat app would lose functionality in the United States from Sunday. TikTok users will be banned from installing updates but could keep accessing the service through November 12.

That timeframe potentially allows for a tie-up between TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, and a US company to safeguard data for the popular entertainment app to allay Washington’s security concerns.

US officials described Friday’s measures as essential to national security as President Donald Trump confronts Beijing amid a tough re-election campaign.

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,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

TikTok denounced the order and said it would continue to fight the Trump administration’s crackdown in court.

The company said it was “disappointed” in the ban, saying it impedes a tool “for entertainment, self-expression and connection.”

Critics said that while the security risks were unclear, the sweeping ban of popular online platforms raises concerns about the government’s ability to regulate free expression under the US constitution’s First Amendment.

“It’s a mistake to think of this as (only) a sanction on TikTok and WeChat. It’s a serious restriction on the First Amendment rights of US citizens and residents,” said Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

The moves would effectively disable US use of WeChat — a so-called super-app used for messaging, shopping, payments and other services — and TikTok from the online marketplaces operated by Apple and Google.

After Sunday, services on WeChat will be “degraded” because of restrictions on US digital services that support the app, said a senior Commerce Department official.

The official said users who already have WeChat installed may still have some capability, but that it “may not be particularly functional after Sunday.”

Owned by China-based tech giant Tencent, WeChat is widely used among Chinese expats to keep in touch with people back home. A court challenge to the ban by US-based WeChat users is pending.

The US ban on WeChat does not affect its service in China where the app is much more widely used.

As for TikTok, existing users will be able to continue using the app until November 12 — when it would also face a full ban on its US operations if no deal is reached, according to officials.