The US Department of Commerce has banned WeChat and TikTok transactions, arguing that this will protect the national security of their country.

In response to President Donald Trump’s Executive Orders signed on August 6, 2020, the Commerce Department announced on Friday bans on transactions related to WeChat and TikTok mobile applications to safeguard the national security of the United States.

According to the US government, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has demonstrated the means and motives to use these applications that threaten the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States.

He noted that the announced bans on WeChat and TikTok, when combined, protect users in the United States by removing access to these apps, significantly reducing their functionality.

«Today’s actions demonstrate once again that President Trump will do everything in his power to ensure our national security and protect Americans from threats from the Chinese Communist Party,» said Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross , it’s a statement

WeChat and TikTok

«Under the leadership of the President, we have taken significant steps to combat China’s malicious collection of personal data of US citizens, while promoting our national values, rules-based democratic norms, and aggressive enforcement of US laws and regulations. Ross added.

While the threats posed by WeChat and TikTok are not identical, they are similar.

Each collects a large amount of user data, including network activity, location data, and search and browsing histories.

“Each is also an active participant in China’s civil-military merger and is subject to mandatory cooperation with the CCP’s intelligence services. This combination results in the use of WeChat and TikTok creating unacceptable risks to our national security, ”he argued.

As of September 20, 2020, the following transactions on WeChat and TikTok are prohibited:

Any service provision to distribute or maintain the WeChat or TikTok mobile applications, constituent code or application updates through an online mobile application store in the US.

Any provision of services through the WeChat mobile application for the purpose of transferring funds or processing payments within the US.

As of September 20, 2020, for WeChat and November 12, 2020, for TikTok, the following transactions are prohibited:

Any provision of Internet hosting services that allows the operation or optimization of the mobile application in the USA.

Any provision of content delivery network services that allows the operation or optimization of the mobile application in the US.

In addition, any provision contracted or arranged directly from Internet transit or peering services that allow the function or optimization of the mobile application within the US.

Any use of the constituent code, functions or services of the mobile application in the operation of software or services developed and / or accessible within the USA.

Any other prohibitive transaction related to WeChat or TikTok can be identified at a future date. If the U.S. government determines that illicit WeChat or TikTok behavior is being replicated by another app in any way outside the scope of these executive orders, the president has the authority to consider whether additional orders may be appropriate for address such activities. The president has provided until November 12 for the national security concerns raised by TikTok to be resolved. If so, the prohibitions may be lifted in this order.