Trump just issued an executive order barring US companies from doing business with TikTok parent company ByteDance, giving it 45 days to sell the app (MSFT)

• Trump issued an executive order Thursday evening prohibiting US individuals and companies from making "any transactions" with TikTok's parent company ByteDance.
• The order, which is set to go into effect in 45 days, claims TikTok "continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States."
• Trump previously said he would ban the app from operating within the US entirely, thought it's unclear what legal authority he has to do that.
• Microsoft has been in talks with ByteDance to acquire the app, and Trump said this week that he would require any sale to an American company to include a "very big" cut going to the US government.
• Trump also issued a similar order Thursday concerning transactions with WeChat, which is owned by Chinse internet giant Tencent. 
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President Donald Trump issued an executive order Thursday that will ban US individuals and companies from doing business with TikTok, which is owned by Chinese-based firm ByteDance.

The order, which is set to go into effect 45 days from Thursday, prohibits "any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States," meaning it applies to both businesses and individuals.

Trump also issued a nearly identical order shortly after targeting WeChat, which is owned by Chinese internet giant Tencent, citing national security concerns.

"The spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in [China] continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States," the order said.

In the order, Trump alleges that TikTok and WeChat's data collection practices could "allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans' personal and proprietary information — potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage."

Trump's orders also claim that both apps censor content that the Chinese government considers "politically sensitive,"  such as content about Hong Kong protests and its treatment of Muslim minority Uyghurs.

 

 

Microsoft declined to comment for this story.

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