speaks to the media as he departs for Walter Reed National Military
Medical Center from the White House on July 11, 2020 in Washington,
DC. Joshua Roberts/Getty Images/AFP
President Donald Trump said Friday he will bar
fast-growing social media app TikTok from the United States as
American authorities have raised concerns the service could be a
tool for Chinese intelligence.
US officials and lawmakers in recent weeks have voiced fears of
the wildly popular video platform being used by Beijing for
nefarious purposes, but the company has denied any links to the
Chinese government.
Media reports circulated earlier Friday saying that Trump would
require the US operations of the app be divested from its Chinese
parent firm ByteDance, but the president announced a ban.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said: “As far as
TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United
States.”
He added he would take action as soon as Saturday using
emergency economic power or an executive order. However, it was
unclear how such a move may be enforced.
TikTok, especially popular with young audiences who create and
watch its short-form videos, has an estimated billion users
worldwide.
TikTok declined to comment on the reports of the forced sales,
saying only: “We are confident in the long-term success
of TikTok.
“Hundreds of millions of people come to TikTok for
entertainment and connection, including our community of creators
and artists who are building livelihoods from the platform.”
Trump’s move comes following a review by the Committee on
Foreign Investment (CFIUS) in the United States, which investigates
deals affecting US national security.
The firm this week pledged a high level of transparency,
including allowing reviews of its algorithms, to assure users and
regulators.
“We are not political, we do not accept political advertising
and have no agenda — our only objective is to remain a vibrant,
dynamic platform for everyone to enjoy,” TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer
said in post this week.
“TikTok has become the latest target, but we are not the
enemy.”
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Earlier this month Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News
that the administration was “looking at” banning the app in the
US.
The comments prompted popular TikTokers to consider migrating to
platforms such as YouTube, the New York Times reported.
Late Friday TikTok users reacted furiously to the news, telling
fans to follow them on different platforms and criticising the
president.
‘Close to zero’
The popularity of the platform surged after ByteDance acquired
US-based app Musical.ly in 2017 and merged it with its own video
service.
Earlier reports had suggested that Microsoft was in talks to
acquire TikTok, which could be valued in the tens of billions of
dollars, but Trump’s move would scupper such a purchase.
illustration taken on November 21, 2019, the logo of the social
media video sharing app Tiktok is displayed on a tablet screen in
Paris. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)
James Lewis, head of the technology policy program at the Center
for Strategic and International Studies, said he believes the
security risk of using TikTok is “close to zero” but that ByteDance
could face pressure from China to engage in censorship.
“It looks like ByteDance may be getting squeezed by Beijing, so
making them divest makes sense,” Lewis said. “They could start
censoring stuff.”
Lewis said US authorities under CFIUS have the power to unwind
an acquisition previously approved and that a similar action was
taken in 2019 with the dating app Grindr after it was bought by a
Chinese firm.
India has already barred TikTok over national security and
privacy concerns while other countries are reportedly mulling
similar measures.
AFP
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