TikTok will be banned in US

President Trump said that he will ban the popular entertainment app TikTok from operating in the United States by signing an executive order, rejecting a potential deal for Microsoft to buy the app from its Chinese-owned parent company.

"As far as TikTok is concerned, we're banning them from the United States," Trump said to reporters.

Trump is planning to use emergency economic powers or an executive order to do so as soon as on this Saturday (1). However, It was unclear what legal challenges such order might face.

President had a simple answer, "Well, I have that authority."

US officials and politicians have raised concerns data collected by ByteDance via TikTok may end up being passed to the Chinese government. TikTok operates a similar but separate version of the app in China, known as Douyin. It says all US user data is stored in the US, with a backup in Singapore.

TikTok has an estimated 65 million to 80 million users in the United States.

-Reuters