Amid ongoing talks between Microsoft and TikTok for the possible acquisition of the short-video social media platform, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning American firms from transacting with ByteDance, owner of TikTok.
This is a step forward for the Trump administration, which has been trying to ban the Chinese application, citing national security concerns without providing any proof. Based on the Forbes report, it looks like TikTok is no mood to go down so easily.
The short video platform has warned going to court over the order. In a statement, the company said: “We are shocked by the recent Executive Order, which was issued without the due process. This Executive Order risks undermining global businesses’ trust in the United States’ commitment to the rule of law, which has served as a magnet for investment and spurred decades of American economic growth.”
The company has been a target of the U.S. lawmakers over allegations that the company could share app’s user with the Chinese government, a claim which TikTok has denied several times, citing that the data is stored in the U.S. and the Chinese government has no authority over that data.
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Prior to this Executive Order, the U.S. government had threatened to ban TikTok in the country unless Microsoft acquires the application by 15th September. The ban on TikTok comes after the United States has effectively banned the telecom giant Huawei for over a year now, citing similar national security concerns, without any proof. This time, the government has not only targeted TikTok but also WeChat, owned by Tencent.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said to Reuters: “The U.S. is using national security as an excuse and using state power to oppress non-American businesses. That’s just a hegemonic practice.”
TikTok has more than 100 million users in the United States while WeChat has been downloaded more than 19 million times in the U.S. Despite getting banned in India and ongoing issues in the U.S., TikTok was the most downloaded app on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in July 2020.
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