Trump Targets TikTok and WeChat

Aug/22/2020 23:20:20


US-China relations reached a recent low recently as Trump made moves to ban two prominent Chinese-owned apps: TikTok and WeChat.

On 6 August, Trump issued two executive orders to ban TikTok and WeChat within 45 days, or 20 September. The only hope? For an American company to acquire the apps.

Many TikTok fans — especially popular creators — had expected an outright ban to come into effect immediately, so the move came as a relief. However, there’s still uncertainty in the air.

Microsoft and Oracle are currently in talks to acquire TikTok, but WeChat remains in peril.


What the executive order means

The ban barred transactions within the apps by people or properties subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. But what exactly does this mean?

It’s still unclear what is meant by “transactions.” This could refer to anyone who wants to place adverts on the platform, but there may be a broader meaning. It could even encompass something as simple as an app download.

So, even in the case of a ban, Trump may be unable to remove TikTok from all devices in the US. Mobile companies like Apple and Google would need to agree to this measure, and it’s unlikely they would comply.


Reasons behind the ban

There’s been speculation about Trump’s motives behind the ban. He stated security concerns over how the Chinese could collect and use data amassed from the apps, saying they threatened the “national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”

Various people have criticized TikTok for sharing information with the Chinese government or not providing the app with secure enough coding, but arguably, other apps like Facebook have similar issues.

Therefore, security might not be Trump’s real motive.

Some have suggested the executive orders could all be part of a plan to drive the apps’ share prices down so an American company can buy them at a cheaper price. Conspiracy theory? Maybe — but we can’t rule anything out.

Others believe the order was simply a power move. China is known for its exclusionary and aggressive approach; it seems Trump is following their lead.


The future of TikTok and WeChat

A few days after the executive order, Trump also ordered TikTok’s owner to give up all the company’s assets and data collected from the United States. It’s a thinly-veiled attack against China.

But it’s hard to believe that these apps could completely disappear from one of the world’s largest economies. TikTok is the second-most downloaded app of 2020 so far, while WeChat has more than 1 billion users, although most of them are in China.

WeChat users are launching a legal challenge. Many Chinese expats rely on the app to communicate with their families (many US messaging apps are banned in China) and claim the ban violates their rights. Whether the bid will be successful remains unclear.

Regardless of these two apps’ future, the United States and China seem caught in a never-ending battle involving reciprocation and retaliation.


Photo by Hello I'm Nik 🎞 on Unsplash
Posted by Anonymous

See more blogs of Anonymous

[PV:210]

Comment
Name
Do not required items.
Text
Do not use HTML Tags.