The U.S. Commerce Department is banning TikTok downloads as of this Sunday on national security grounds.
Users who have already downloaded TikTok will be able to keep it, the New York Post reported. But they will have no way to download software updates from the app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
Apple and Google will be unable to offer TikTok on their app stores. Furthermore, the ban prevents downloads of WeChat, also Chinese-owned.
TikTok has about 100 million users in the U.S., according to CNN. It has denied allegations that it shares data with the Chinese government.
Trump administration officials have repeatedly voiced concerns about the national security implications of TikTok’s popularity. Many considered those concerns as already addressed when Redwood Shores, California-based Oracle announced it would become TikTok’s business partner in the U.S.
But now President Trump is upping the ante on TikTok. The announcement puts pressure on TikTok to approve a deal with Oracle before the ban takes effect.
“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,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said, according to the Post. “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 US laws and regulations.”
TikTok released a statement saying the company disagrees with the decision and plans to challenge it, Reuters reported.
