Trump to ban TikTok in the US

In the United States, President Trump has said he will take action to ban TikTok from the US.

It comes after United States intelligence bosses fear the popular Chinese-owned video app presents a possible national security risk.

US Government officials and workers at many corporations have been banned from downloading it onto work phones for fear their data will be transmitted back to China’s communist government.

Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he returned from Florida:

‘As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States.”

The president said he could use emergency economic powers or an executive order to enforce the action, insisting,

‘I have that authority,’. ‘It’s going to be signed tomorrow.’

The president said earlier this month he was considering a TikTok ban to ‘get back at China’ for the coronavirus pandemic.

The app hit the headlines in June after its users – most of whom are in their teens and early 20s – tried to sabotage Mr Trump’s first post-pandemic rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by requesting tickets they had no intention of using.

TikTok issued a statement Friday saying:

‘While we do not comment on rumours or speculation, we are confident in the long-term success of TikTok.’

ByteDance launched TikTok in 2017, then bought Musical.ly, a video service popular with teens in the US and Europe, and combined the two. A twin service, Douyin, is available for Chinese users.

TikTok is hugely popular among Americans, and has around 80 million users in the US, the majority of whom are younger users heavily valued by advertisers. It allows users to create and edit short videos complete with music, sound effects and graphics.

TikTok’s fun, goofy videos and ease of use has made it immensely popular, and Facebook and Snapchat both see it as a competitive threat.