US President Joe Biden Pauses TikTok and WeChat Ban
TikTok and WeChat will continue to operate in the United States while the new government "become[s] familiar with the issues in this case,"
The last two years of the Trump administration have been fixated on banning any company with alleged Chinese Communist Party links. Huawei has been the most troubled, and Chinese apps like TikTok and WeChat were also under fire, labelled a national security risk.
The newly inaugurated Biden administration has taken a soft stance on TikTok and WeChat. The legal action against the two Chinese apps has been paused for review if they really threaten the United States’ national security.
As a result, TikTok and WeChat will continue to operate in the United States while the new government “become[s] familiar with the issues in this case,” the BBC reported.
Trump’s government had launched legal action against the two Chinese apps that would have banned their use in the country.
In an executive order dated August 2020, Trump said, “To protect our Nation, I took action to address the threat posed by one mobile application, TikTok. Further action is needed to address a similar threat posed by another mobile application, WeChat.”
Trump accused the two of automatically collecting “vast swaths of information” including “internet and other network activity information” that could let China track federal employees, and contractors and use the built information profiles for personal interests, including blackmail and corporate espionage.
The two had also hit back against the government and temporarily circumvented the impending ban via court.
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