US Bans Chinese Apps WeChat, TikTok


    18 September 2020

    The United States will ban downloads of the Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok starting this Sunday.

    The U.S. order affects users of WeChat immediately. However, current TikTok users will see little change on September 20. President Trump and his administration will let some technical transactions for TikTok continue until November 12.

    Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement that "The President has provided until November 12 for the national security concerns posed by TikTok to be resolved. If they are, the prohibitions in this order may be lifted."

    Icons for the smartphone apps TikTok and WeChat are seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020.
    Icons for the smartphone apps TikTok and WeChat are seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020.

    Trump has been pushing for a sale of TikTok to a U.S.-based company. The later date appears to give the app's Chinese owner, ByteDance, more time to reach a deal for its U.S. operations.

    ByteDance has been in contact with Oracle Corporation and other American companies about TikTok.

    Like most social networks, TikTok collects data of its users and where they are in the United States to target advertisements. Similar concerns have also been raised about the U.S.-based networks Facebook and Twitter.

    The ban is the Trump administration's latest attempt to limit Chinese influence.

    Effects of the ban

    The Commerce Department order will remove WeChat and TikTok from U.S. app stores, such as Apple's app store and Alphabet's Google Play. But it does not affect the use of these apps in other countries.

    TikTok has 100 million users in the United States and is popular among younger Americans.

    WeChat has more than 1 billion users and about 19 million daily active users in the U.S. It is especially popular among Chinese students and Americans who have personal or business relationships in China.

    The Commerce Department will not force people in the U.S. to remove the apps or stop using them. But users cannot update the two apps and, after some time, the apps will not work as expected.

    Speaking about WeChat, a Commerce official told Reuters news agency, "It may still be usable, but it is not going to be as functional as it was." The official added that TikTok's U.S. users would not see "a major difference" in the app's performance until November 12.

    I'm Jonathan Evans.

    Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English with information from Reuters and the Associated Press. George Grow was the editor.

    _______________________________________________________________

    Words in This Story

    download - v. to move or copy a file or program from a computer system to another or device

    app - n. a computer program that performs a special function (short for application)

    transaction - n. the act or process of passing money or information... from one to another

    prohibition - n. a law or order that stops something from being used or done

    update - v. to change something by including the latest information or function

    functional - adj. working properly