US President Donald Trump has signed Executive Orders that would ban the companies behind the
TikTok and
WeChat apps from working with American businesses. It's not clear whether Google, Apple and Microsoft would be forced to remove the apps from their online stores - and if any action might be taken against US-based customers who want to keep using the apps.
Both apps are owned by companies based in China; video app TikTok is owned by ByteDance, while social network WeChat is owned by Tencent. The Executive Order claims that personal data collected by the apps could be used by the Chinese government.
Both orders would take effect from mid-September, although Microsoft has
been in talks to buy part of TikTok, which would resolve the US concerns if the deal was completed in time.
[
TikTok Executive Order]
[
WeChat Executive Order]