Social media apps, TikTok, WeChat to be banned

By Ubongabasi James

THE United States Department of Commerce has banned TikTok and WeChat from U.S app stores from Sunday November 20, citing national security concerns.

They will no longer be available for download from the iOS and Google Play stores but if TikTok can resolve the security issues before November 12, the ban may be lifted.

This is in response to the President’s Executive Orders banning these apps from operating on grounds of national security.

“The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has demonstrated the means and motives to use these apps to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the US Today’s announced prohibitions, when combined, protect users in the U.S. by eliminating access to these applications and significantly reducing their functionality,” the department stated in a press release at the weekend.