The U.S. Department of Commerce said in a Friday (Sept. 18) morning EST announcement that in order to protect U.S. national security, it will ban the downloading of WeChat and TikTok, the overseas versions of Jitterbug, starting Sunday (Sept. 20).
Senior Commerce Department officials said the same morning that the apps will retain some functionality in the U.S. after Sunday, but their functionality will be weakened and cannot be updated.
The Commerce Department press release made no mention of a partnership between TikTok, which is under review, and Oracle, a U.S. enterprise software company. Oracle and other U.S. companies that may have stakes in the new company would join the board of directors. Oracle and possibly other U.S. companies will join the board of directors of the new company, which will have a 60% stake in the new company and will be responsible for storing and managing TikTok’s U.S. user data.
The Commerce Department press release stated, “In response to an executive order signed by President Trump on August 6, 2020, the Commerce Department today announced that transactions related to the WeChat and TikTok mobile applications are being shut down in the interest of U.S. national security. The Chinese Communist Party has demonstrated the means and motivation to use these applications to threaten U.S. national security, foreign policy, and the economy. The combination of the clampdowns announced today will protect users in the United States by eliminating downloads of these apps and significantly reducing their functionality,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said, “Today’s action reaffirms that President Trump will do everything in his power to safeguard our national security and protect Americans from the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party. As directed by the President, we have taken notable action to counter China’s malicious collection of personal information on U.S. citizens, while promoting our national values and the norms of rules-based democracy and vigorously enforcing U.S. laws and regulations.”
The U.S. Department of Commerce also stated that “the threats posed by WeChat and TikTok are similar, though not identical. Both collect large amounts of information from users, including online activity, user location information, and browsing and search history. Both actively participate in China’s dual-use program and must cooperate with Chinese intelligence services. These factors combine to make the use of WeChat and TikTok an unacceptable risk to our national security.”
The transactions related to WeChat and TikTok that the U.S. Department of Commerce announced it was banning include services that distribute or maintain both mobile applications come September 20, 2020; services that provide the ability to transfer funds or process payments through the WeChat mobile application in the U.S.; services that provide Internet hosting services for the WeChat mobile application in the U.S. and enable or optimize the mobile application in the U.S. come September 20, 2020; and services that provide such services for TikTok in the U.S. come November 12, 2020.
The Commerce Department said it may announce other deals related to WeChat and TikTok in the future.
The Commerce Department gave reporters a background briefing on the announcement Friday morning. The Commerce Department’s ban will remove WeChat and TikTok from U.S. shelves, but users in the U.S. will still be able to use both apps after the ban takes effect, but their functionality will be reduced, according to senior Commerce officials. The U.S. ban will not affect users in other countries who use the apps outside the United States.
Depending on the outcome of ongoing negotiations between TikTok and the companies involved and President Trump’s judgment on the outcome of those negotiations, the U.S. will make a decision to protect Americans’ personal information and U.S. national security, according to a senior Commerce Department official, who said TikTok could be banned outright come November 12.
A reporter asked: What were the considerations of the Trump administration when the Chinese company in question sought to legally challenge the administration’s decision based on the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression? Senior Commerce Department officials said the administration’s decision was based on facts and thoughtful consideration of the potential legal challenges.
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