United States (US) President Donald Trump said he will ban social media app TikTok from the country as American authorities have raised concerns the service could be a tool for Chinese intelligence.
US officials and lawmakers in recent weeks have voiced fears of the wildly popular video platform being used by Beijing for nefarious purposes, but the company has denied any links to the Chinese government.
According to media reports, Trump would require the US operations of the app be divested from its Chinese parent firm ByteDance, but the president announced a ban.
Speaking to media officials, Trump said: “As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States.”
Moreover, he added he would take action as soon as Saturday using emergency economic power or an executive order.
