This archive report was first published on 7 August 2020.
US President Trump Targets Chinese Social Media Giants TikTok and WeChat ¶
On August 6, 2020, US President Donald Trump signed executive orders restricting American companies from doing business with Chinese-owned social media giants TikTok and WeChat.
The move, aimed at countering China's rising global power, sets a deadline for a potential pressured sale of viral video sensation TikTok to Microsoft. Trump cited national security concerns, alleging that TikTok captures vast swaths of user information, including location data and browsing histories, which could be exploited by China to track federal employees and contractors, build dossiers on people for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage.
Beijing slammed the move as 'arbitrary political manipulation and suppression' and warned that it would come at the expense of American users and companies. Users of China's Twitter-like Weibo platform expressed concerns that the move would cut off many Chinese living and studying abroad.
TikTok vowed to 'pursue all remedies available to us in order to ensure... our company and our users are treated fairly — if not by the Administration, then by the US courts.' Tencent, WeChat's parent firm, said it was 'reviewing' the order.
Trump's move adds to a laundry list of issues that have ratcheted up tensions between the superpowers, including Hong Kong, trade, Huawei, Taiwan, and the spread of the coronavirus.
— This story was originally published on August 7, 2020, and is preserved in its original form.
