Published 17:48 IST, August 16th 2020
Trump says he could exert pressure on more Chinese companies after ByteDance
Trump on August 15 said that his administration could pressure more Chinese companies to move out of the US after vowing to ban ByteDance-owned TikTok.
US President Donald Trump on August 15 said that his administration could pressure more Chinese companies to move out of the US after vowing to ban ByteDance-owned TikTok. Trump while speaking to the press on Saturday, expressed his willingness to exert pressure on other Chinese firms as well, when asked if he was looking to ban other China-owned companies, such as Alibaba. The Trump administration recently ordered TikTok to wrap-up its US operations within 90 days or sell it to an American company as it considers the short-video app as a security threat accusing it of stealing personal data of millions of US citizens and supplying it to the Communist Party of China.
Trump's executive order
Donald Trump on August 6 signed an executive order banning American citizens and businesses from doing any transaction with Chinese-owned application TikTok, its parent company ByteDance Ltd. and messaging app WeChat, effective after 45 days from the date of the order. Trump in his executive order stated that these steps have been taken because the applications mentioned above threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. Trump in his order also accused TikTok of censoring content, especially those that the CPC deems politically sensitive, content related to Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, China's treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xijiang province, etc.
According to reports, American tech giant Microsoft is in talks with ByteDance to buy TikTok's US operations, a deal that is expected to be signed before September 15. TikTok is facing increasing scrutiny across the world over its data-storing policy. In June, the Indian government banned the app citing security concerns following violent clashes between soldiers of the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army of China.
Updated 17:48 IST, August 16th 2020