Trump bans dealings with Chinese owners of TikTok, WeChat
WASHINGTON, DC — President Donald Trump has ordered an unspecified ban on “transactions” with the Chinese owners of the consumer apps TikTok and WeChat, although it remains unclear if he has the legal authority to actually ban the apps from the U.S.
The twin executive orders – one for each app – take effect in 45 days. They call on the Commerce Secretary to define the banned transactions by that time.
The orders’ wording is vague, but leaves open the possibility that hosting the apps in the Apple and Google app stores could be covered by the ban.
Trump had threatened a deadline of Sept. 15 to “close down” TikTok unless Microsoft or “somebody else” bought it.
