NEW YORK / WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s executive order banning China’s TikTok could prevent US app stores from offering the popular short video app and making ads on the platform illegal, according to a White House document by Reuters.
FILE PHOTO: US flags are seen near a TikTok logo in this illustration photo taken July 16, 2020. REUTERS / Florence Lo / Illustration / File photo
Trump last week signed an order banning transactions with TikTok if her parent ByteDance does not reach a deal to disinvest it in 45 days. It did not specify the scope of the ban, and only stated that the U.S. Department of Commerce would define which transactions were excluded at the end of the 45-day period.
The White House document, sent to supporters last week, provides insight into the thinking of the Trump administration. It shows that the US government is considering disrupting important aspects of TikTok’s operations and funding, amid concerns over the security of personal data that the app handles.
“For example, prohibited transactions may include agreements to make the TikTok app available in app stores … purchase of advertisements on TikTok, and acceptance of terms of service to download the TikTok app to a user device,” the document states.
A source familiar with the White House document verified its authenticity. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some tech industry experts say that eliminating TikTok’s capabilities is offered on Apple Inc. (AAPL.O) and Google owner Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) app stores, which in turn can download it on iPhone and Android smartphones, could deceive the growth of the app.
“That kills TikTok in the US,” said James Lewis, a cyber security expert with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. “If they want to grow, these rules are an enormous obstacle.”
However, he added that the US government may not be able to prevent Americans from downloading TikTok from foreign websites.
Apple and Alphabet did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Following Trump’s executive order last week, TikTok told advertisers that it would continue with advertising campaign plans, refunds it could not pursue, reimburse and work with major influencers to migrate to other platforms in the event of a ban. Some advertisers told Reuters they were drawing up contingency plans and considering other apps for their marketing. [nL1N2F91N2]
It is unclear whether Trump’s order will be implemented. Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) has led negotiations to get the operations of TikTok from North America, Australia and New Zealand under the supervision of the Trump administration. A successful deal would make transactions with TikTok-moot.
The White House document, seen by Reuters, is not clear on whether the United States will implement a similar crackdown on WeChat, the social media app owned by China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) that Trump also tried to ban it last week in an executive order.
TikTok, which said it has declared legal challenges to Trump’s order, has 100 million active users in the United States, and is especially popular with teens. It has said that US user data is securely stored in the United States and Singapore, and that it would not pass on such information to the Chinese government.
Report by Karen Freifeld in New York and Alexandra Alper in Washington, DC; Additional Report by Echo Wang in New York; Edited by Greg Roumeliotis and Tom Brown
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