TikTok, Wechat to be banned in the US starting September 20.
TikTok has been facing some serious hatred from different countries. First, the app got banned in India over privacy and security concerns. Now, the US government is gearing up to initiate a ban on the installation of the application across the country. With this, the app will be losing a huge amount of user base.
The United States of America will ban its citizens from downloading TikTok starting September 20. Alongside that, the county is also putting up a ban on the popular cross-platform messaging app, WeChat. This has been confirmed as the US government has already published the new rules on the US Department of Commerce website.
According to a report by Reuters, Washington will order Apple, Google and other companies to remove these apps from their platforms. This will basically eliminate the chance of anyone being able to install the two applications in the country. However, both Google and Apple can continue offering the app outside the US.
Unlike the situation in India, the current TikTok and WeChat users will not be prevented from using the apps. The app will work normally for them. However, they will not be able to freshly install the app on a new phone or update the app on their existing device.
The report further suggests that US President Donald Trump could still revoke the ban even before it comes into effect.
The Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, told Reuters that the department has "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 US laws and regulations.”
