The US President Trump said Friday that he plans to ban Chinese video app TikTok as soon as Saturday, via either executive order or emergency economic powers, according to White House press pool comments.
Why it matters: TikTok has been caught in the crossfires of the United States’ escalating tensions with China.
What he’s saying:
“As far as TikTok is concerned we’re banning them from the United States. … Well, I have that authority. I can do it with an executive order or [emergency economic powers].”
— Trump to reporters aboard AF1
Earlier on Friday, reports emerged that Microsoft is in talks to potentially acquire TikTok from its parent company, Bytedance (a group of investors has also reportedly made a bid).
Yes, but: The U.S president made it clear during his comments that he’s not in favor of such a deal that would result in the company having American ownership (a process that would be subject to review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States).
TikTok is a Chinese video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based internet technology company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming. It is used to create short dance, lip-sync, comedy and talent videos. ByteDance first launched Douyin for the Chinese market in September 2016.