The United States President, Donald Trump, has disclosed plan to ban the TikTok app in the United States.
Trump disclosed this on Friday July 31, 2020, through executive authority while flying home from Florida. ‘We’re banning them from the United States,’ Trump had said.
The app, which allows users to film and share short videos of themselves alongside accompanying music, is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. This relationship has caused the Trump administration, as well as lawmakers across both aisles, to see the app as a security threat. The president said he would sign something as soon as Saturday, without specifying whether he was going to act through an executive order.
Trump called the decision ‘severance’ and firmly rejected the reported spinoff deal involving Microsoft buying TikTok.
TikTok has an estimated 65 million to 80 million users in the United States.
The American Civil Liberties Union, a New York City-based nonprofit advocacy organization, said banning an app like TikTok ‘is a danger to free expression and technologically impractical.’
‘We’ll see what happens, but we’re looking at a lot of alternatives with respect to TikTok,’ the president said.
The Chinese video-sharing social networking service has not just triggered fear among Republicans, the Democratic National Committee also warned members against using TikTok earlier this month, according to an email obtained by CNN.
Earlier this month, a TikTok spokesperson told ABC News that the company is led by an American CEO, with hundreds of employees and key leaders across safety, security, product, and public policy in the US. ‘We have no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience for our users.’
Recall that the TikTok app was reportedly used by a group of American teenagers who deliberately booked seats for Trump’s 20 June Tulsa rally; without any intention of attending; so as to reduce the numbers of attendees.
Also, the TikTok app alongside 57 other Chinese apps was banned in India two weeks ago following the escalation of border disputes between India and China.
