President Donald Trump said Friday that he will ban the United States' fast-growing social media app TikTok as US authorities have expressed concern that the service could be a tool for Chinese intelligence.
US officials and lawmakers in recent weeks have expressed fear that Beijing will use the hugely popular video platform for dire purposes, but the company has denied any ties to the Chinese government.
Media reports circulated earlier on Friday saying Trump would require the app's U.S. operations to shed its Chinese parent company ByteDance, but the president announced a ban.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said: "As far as TikTok is concerned, we are banning them in the United States."
He added that he would take action as early as Saturday using emergency economic power or an executive order.
Trump's move comes after a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) in the United States, which investigates deals that affect U.S. national security.
TikTok, especially popular with young audiences who create and view their short videos, has an estimated 1 billion users worldwide.
Consulted by AFP, TikTok declined to comment on the reports of forced sales, saying only: "We are confident in TikTok's long-term success."
No comments:
Post a Comment