Trump to block US TikTok and WeChat store downloads starting September 20
On September 20, US President Trump will ban TikTok and WeChat app downloads in America. This is after concerns about data security on said apps.
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| TikTok has until November 12 before a complete ban |
US Government: Goodbye TikTok and WeChat
The US Commerce Department issued a new order to block people in the US from downloading TikTok and WeChat. There are differences in the bans for each app though as WeChat will be completely banned on September 20 while TikTok's updates and maintenance will stop on the same date.
TikTok has a November 12 deadline before US companies are blocked from providing cloud and internet services for the app. This could give Oracle additional time to conjure up a deal for TikTok that will be more aligned with President Trump's liking. This also means that even after September 20, if TikTok is installed in your device, it will continue to function as is. However, you cannot update it to the latest version anymore.
The US Government gave TikTok 45 days to sell its US business to a US company to avoid being banned. That order came down on August 6, 2020. If no deal comes through, TikTok and WeChat will be removed from both Apple's and Google's app markets.
TikTok has been in talks with different companies to sell its business in the US, Australia, and New Zealand to a US company. Microsoft, Walmart, and Oracle have been bidding with the latter in the lead.
However, Microsoft pulled out since China updated its tech export rules to include AI algorithms akin to what TikTok uses. This changed the deal from the whole TikTok business to just a minority stake in the company as a technological partner.
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