Trump Backs Threats Against China With TikTok, WeChat Bans
- TikTok ban could be reversed if deal with Oracle, U.S. reached
- Distribution, maintenance, updates of apps to be prohibited
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The Trump administration made good on longstanding threats to take action against Chinese internet giants in the U.S. by issuing a ban on WeChat and TikTok from Apple Inc. and Google’s app stores.
For months, President Donald Trump has said he planned to crack down on WeChat, a tool for messaging and money-sharing owned by Shenzhen-based Tencent Holdings Ltd., and TikTok, a music video app owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., alleging that both apps could let Chinese officials gather data on tens of millions U.S. users and manipulate information shared by Americans.