The United States will ban some transactions through the Chinese-owned WeChat app, while banning new downloads and updates to the app, as well as the TikTok app starting Sunday.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Friday that the US will ban intra-US cash transfers related to WeChat and its parent company Tencent Holdings Ltd. Other prohibited measures as of September 20 include distribution , maintenance and updates of WeChat or TikTok through app stores on the NOS.
The order does not apply to transactions or cash transfers outside of the US, which had been of concern to some US tech companies.
“WeChat USA, for all practical purposes, will be shut down,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox Business. Americans will still be able to use WeChat for payments in China, he said. “The basic Tiktok will remain intact until November 12,” although users will not be able to access the updates from Sunday night, he said.
The Commerce Department also said the president has allowed until November 12 for national security concerns raised by ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok to be resolved. If so, the bans may be lifted in this order.
The Commerce restrictions place the responsibility on Apple Inc. and Google of Alphabet Inc. to remove the Tiktok and WeChat applications from their US application stores by September 20. While people who already have the app on their phone won’t be affected, apps will degrade over time if users can’t access updates.
Apple and Google did not respond to immediate requests for comment.
The ban could also affect US companies that allow payment via WeChat, as the restrictions prohibit services via the WeChat mobile app for the purpose of transferring funds or processing payments within the US.
“The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has demonstrated the means and motives to use these apps to threaten the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States,” the Commerce Department statement said on Friday as the reason for its ruling.
The Commerce Department held a series of briefings in late August with businesses and lobbyists who were quick to find out what the potential ban could mean for their businesses, according to people familiar with the matter. Some US tech firms lobbied the Trump administration to allow them to continue doing business with the Chinese firm through its operations in Asia and to allow US citizens to use the apps there.
President Donald Trump first announced the restrictions on August 6, with details coming at the end of the 45-day deadline set in that initial order.
ByteDance has been negotiating with Oracle Corp. to participate in a reconfigured TikTok to ease the president’s concerns about data on US users of the app exposed to China.
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