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| TikTok: Trump says he will ban Chinese video app in the US | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| President Donald Trump has announced he is banning the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok in the US. | President Donald Trump has announced he is banning the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok in the US. |
| He told reporters he could sign an executive order as early as Saturday. | He told reporters he could sign an executive order as early as Saturday. |
| US security officials have expressed concern that the app, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, could be used to collect the personal data of Americans. | US security officials have expressed concern that the app, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, could be used to collect the personal data of Americans. |
| TikTok has denied accusations that it is controlled by or shares data with the Chinese government. | |
| The fast-growing app has up to 80 million active monthly users in America and the ban would be a major blow for ByteDance. | The fast-growing app has up to 80 million active monthly users in America and the ban would be a major blow for ByteDance. |
| "As far as TikTok is concerned, we're banning them from the United States," Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. | "As far as TikTok is concerned, we're banning them from the United States," Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. |
| It was not immediately clear what authority Mr Trump has to ban TikTok, how that ban would be enforced and what legal challenges it would face. | |
| Microsoft has reportedly been in talks to buy the app from ByteDance, but Mr Trump appeared to cast doubt that such a deal would be allowed to go through. If the deal went ahead reports say it would involve ByteDance shedding TikTok's US operations. | |
| A TikTok spokesperson declined to comment on Mr Trump's mooted ban, but told US media outlets the company was "confident in the long-term success of TikTok" in the US. | |
| The move to ban TikTok comes at a time of heightened tensions between the Trump administration and the Chinese government over a number of issues, including trade disputes and Beijing's handling of the coronavirus outbreak. | |
| What is TikTok? | |
| The platform has exploded in popularity in recent years, mostly with people under 20. | |
| They use the app to share 15-second videos that often involve lip-synching to songs, comedy routines and unusual editing tricks. | |
| These videos are then made available to both followers and strangers. By default, all accounts are public, although users can restrict uploads to an approved list of contacts. | |
| TikTok also allows private messages to be sent but this facility is limited to "friends". | |
| The app is reported to have around 800 million active monthly users, most of whom are in the US and India. | |
| India has already blocked TikTok as well as other Chinese apps. Australia, which has already banned Huawei and telecom equipment-maker ZTE, is also considering banning TikTok. | |
| Why is the US concerned about TikTok? | |
| US officials and politicians have raised concerns data collected by ByteDance via TikTok may end up being passed to the Chinese government. | |
| TikTok operates a similar but separate version of the app in China, known as Douyin. It says all US user data is stored in the US, with a backup in Singapore. | |
| This week, TikTok told users and regulators it would observe a high level of transparency, including allowing reviews of its algorithms. | |
| "We are not political, we do not accept political advertising and have no agenda - our only objective is to remain a vibrant, dynamic platform for everyone to enjoy," the CEO of TikTok, Kevin Mayer, said in a post this week. | |
| "TikTok has become the latest target, but we are not the enemy." |