US President Donald Trump says the Chinese video-sharing app, Tiktok could be banned in America as early as Saturday as he plans to sign an executive order to that effect.
He stated this in an interaction with journalists aboard Air Force One on Friday night, The Herald learnt.
The president added that should the executive order not become feasible, he could resort to emergency economic powers to prohibit the platform from American soil.
Trump has also vowed to ensure no American company buys the social media platform following reports linking Microsoft with acquisition talks.
According to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the app was being looked at by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews deals by foreign acquirers for potential national security risks.
The president’s announcement comes amid concerns that Chinese authorities were using the platform, which boasts 800 million global users, to spy on Americans.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance has been rapped repeatedly by analysts for supposed links with the Chinese state, an allegation it has strenuously denied.
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