The US Commerce Department announced on Friday that it will issue an order prohibiting Americans from using the Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok beginning Sunday, September 20.
Commerce officials said President Donald Trump might yet revoke the ban on new TikTok downloads in the United States before it goes into force late on Sunday, as TikTok owner ByteDance works to reach an agreement on the future of its US operations.
ByteDance has been in talks with Oracle and others to form TikTok Global, a new firm that promises to resolve US concerns about the security of its users’ data. ByteDance still needs Trump’s consent to avoid a US ban.
Commerce officials said they will not prohibit more technical transactions for TikTok until November 12th, giving the business more time to see if ByteDance can achieve an agreement for its US operations.
“The basic TikTok will remain intact until November 12,” commerce secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox Business Network. According to the government, the moves will “protect users in the United States by eliminating access to these applications and significantly reducing their functionality”.
