US weighs ban on TikTok

The White House is considering putting TikTok on a blacklist that would effectively prevent Americans from using the popular video app, as one option to prevent China from obtaining personal data via the social media platform, Report says, citing Financial Times.

Three people familiar with the debate inside the Trump administration said one proposal being mulled was to place ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the social media app, on the commerce department’s “entity list.” 

That move would make it exceptionally hard for US companies to provide technology to TikTok. The restrictions would include software, meaning that Apple and other app stores could no longer provide updates over their platforms.

The official said the administration would conclude within a month. “We are going to send a powerful message to China.”

The administration is conscious that TikTok is popular with the public, and so was examining if there is a way to allow people to use the app. Still, with protections to prevent China from accessing private data, the official added.

Earlier, the NBC television company, citing sources, informed the American corporation that Facebook plans to launch an analog of TikTok, previously created based on its Instagram social network, in more than 50 countries, including the United States. According to them, a service called Instagram Reels will be available to users within a few weeks.

On July 6, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said that the US does not rule out the possibility of blocking TikTok in the country amid allegations that the leadership of the social network is allegedly engaged in propaganda and transfers user data to the Chinese authorities.