Trump bans dealings with Chinese owners of TikTok, WeChat
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump has ordered a s wee p i n g b u t v a g u e ban on dealings with the Chinese owners of popular social media apps TikTok and WeChat on security grounds, a move China's government criticized as “political manipulation.”
T h e t w i n e x e c u t i v e orders Thursday — one for each app — add to growing U.S.-Chinese conflict over technology and security. They take effect in 45 days and could bar the apps from the Apple and Google app stores, effect i v e l y r e movi n g t h e m from U.S. distribution.
China's f oreign ministry said it opposed the move but gave no indication whether Beijing might retaliate.
Earlier, Trump threatened a deadline of Sept. 15 to “close down” TikTok i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s unless Microsoft Corp. or another company acquires it.
T i k T o k , o w n e d b y Beijing-headquartered ByteDance Ltd., is popul ar for i ts short, catchy v i d e o s . T h e c o mpa n y s ays i t has 1 00 milli on users in the United States and hundreds of millions worldwide.
T h e T r u mp a d mi n - i stration has expressed concern Chinese social me d i a s e r v i c e s c o u l d provide American users' p e r s o n a l i n f o r ma t i o n t o Chinese authorities, t hough i t has gi ven no evidence TikTok did that.
Instead, officials point to the Communist Party's ability to compel coope r a t i o n f r o m C h i n e s e companies. U.S. regulators cited similar security concerns last year when t h e Ch i n e s e o wne r o f Grindr was ordered to sell the dating app.
In a statement, TikTok expressed shock at t he o r d e r a n d c o mpl a i n e d it violates U.S. law. The company said it doesn't s t o r e A m e r i c a n u s e r data in China and never has given it to Beijing or censored content at the government's request.
Ti k Tok s a i d i t s p e nt nearly a year t r yi ng t o r e a c h a “c o n s t r u c t i v e solution” but the Trump administration “paid no attention t o f acts” and tried improperly to insert itself into business negoti ations. TikTok said i t would “pursue all remedies” available to ensure the company and its users are “are treated fairly.”
Tencent and Microsoft declined to comment.
On Fri day, s hares of WeChat's owner, Tencent Holding Ltd., declined 5% in trading in Hong Kong. T e n c e n t , A s i a ' s mo s t valuable t ech company with a market capitali zation of $ 650 million, makes most of its money f r om online games and entertainment in China.
O n W e d n e s d a y , Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced an e x p a n s i o n o f t h e U. S . cr ackdown on Chinese t e c h n o l o g y t o i n c l u d e barring Chinese apps from U. S. app s t ores, ci t i ng alleged security threats and calling out TikTok and WeChat by name.
T h e C h i n e s e f o r - e i g n mini s t r y a c c u s e d Washington of “political manipulation” and said t h e m o v e s w i l l h u r t American companies and consumers.
“The United States i s using national security as an excuse, frequently a buses nati onal power and unreasonably supp r e s s e s c o mpa n i e s o f o t h e r c o u n t r i e s , ” s a i d a ministry s pokesman, Wang Wenbin. “This is an outright hegemonic act. China is firmly opposed to it.”
Wang, who didn't mention TikTok or any other company by name, called o n t h e Tr u mp a d mi n - i stration to “correct i ts wrongdoing” but g a v e no indication how Beijing might respond.
T r u mp ' s o r d e r s s a y the Chinese-owned apps “t hr e a t e n t he nati onal security, foreign policy, and economy of the United St a t e s . ” They c i t e t he International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergencies A c t a n d c a l l o n t h e Commerce secretary to define the banned dealings by Sept. 15.
We C h a t , k n o w n i n Chinese as Weixin, i s a hugely popular messaging app that links to finance a n d o t h e r s e r v i c e s . I t has more t han 1 bill i on users. Around the world, many people of Chinese descent use WeChat to stay in touch with friends and f amily and to conduct business in mainland China.
Within China, WeChat is censored and expected t o a d h e r e t o c o n t e n t restrictions set by authori t i e s . The Ci t i z e n L a b internet watchdog group in Toronto says WeChat monitors files and images shared abroad to aid its censorship in China.
T e n c e n t a l s o o w n s s t a k e s i n ma j o r g a me companies such as Epic G a m e s , p u b l i s h e r o f Fortnite, a major video game hit, and Riot Games, which is behind League of Legends.
T h e T r u mp a d mi n - i s t r a t i o n a l r e a d y wa s embroiled in a tariff war w i t h B e i j i n g o v e r i t s t e c hnol ogy a mbiti ons. Washington has blocked a c q u i s i t i o n s o f s o m e U. S. assets by Chinese buyers and has cut of f most access to American c omponents a nd ot her t echnology f or Huawei T e c h n o l o g i e s L t d . , a maker of s martphones and network equipment that is China's first global tech brand.
China- b a c k e d ha c k - ers have been blamed for breaches of U.S. federal databases and the credit agency Equifax.
I n C h i n a , t h e Communist Party limits what foreign tech companies can do and blocks access to the Google search engine, Facebook, Twitter and other social media, along with thousands of websites operated by news organizations and human rights, pro-democracy and other activist groups.