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Trump administration bans WeChat, TikTok from App stores beginning Sunday

The Tencent Holdings Ltd. WeChat app is displayed in the App Store on a smartphone in an arranged photograph taken in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders prohibiting U.S. residents from doing business with the Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat apps beginning 45 days from now, citing the national security risk of leaving Americans' personal data exposed. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

September 18, 2020 at 10:30 p.m. GMT+10

The Trump administration said Friday that it is banning China’s TikTok and WeChat from mobile app stores beginning this Sunday, Sept.r20, in a move that will sharply raise tensions with Beijing.

The White House will take other action to curb WeChat’s use beginning Sunday, and will give TikTok until Nov. 12 until further bans kick in. Western companies and bankers are still wrangling with TikTok’s owner, the White House and Chinese authorities to try to arrange a sale of some of TikTok’s business.

“Today’s actions prove once again that President Trump will do everything in his power to guarantee our national security and protect Americans from the threats of the Chinese Communist Party,” U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement. “At the President’s direction, we have taken significant action to combat China’s malicious collection of American citizens’ personal data, while promoting our national values, democratic rules-based norms, and aggressive enforcement of U.S. laws and regulations.”