*President Donald Trump announced last week he will soon ban Chinese-owned video app TikTok from the United States.
“As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One Friday.
“I have that authority. I can do it with an executive order or that,” he said.
According to the WSJ, following the president’s remarks, Microsoft paused the purchase of the app, TheWrap reports.
“The administration has very serious national security concerns over TikTok. We continue to evaluate future policy,” said a White House spokesperson in a statement made Saturday.
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.@KalhanR reports Pres. Trump’s threat to ban TikTok could motivate young voters.
“Young people, especially first-time voters, out of these crucial battleground states are already looking to politics. They’re very politically engaged and they’re ready to vote this November.” pic.twitter.com/0g7CJWxhAI
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 3, 2020
TikTok was recently banned in India on security concerns.
The company has repeatedly rejected accusations that it gives user data to China.
“TikTok US user data is stored in the US, with strict controls on employee access. TikTok’s biggest investors come from the US. We are committed to protecting our users’ privacy and safety as we continue working to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create on our platform,” the company said in a statement.
“Hundreds of millions of people come to TikTok for entertainment and connection, including our community of creators and artists who are building livelihoods from the platform,” a spokeswoman said Friday in response to Trump’s comments, noting that “Our $1 billion creator fund supports US creators who are building livelihoods from our platform.”
“We’ve hired nearly 1,000 people to our US team this year alone, and are proud to be hiring another 10,000 employees into great paying jobs across the US,” the statement continued.
Meanwhile, Trump told reporters “We are looking at a lot of alternatives with respect to TikTok.”
Trump previously said he’s considering the ban in retaliation against China over its handling of the coronavirus.
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