Trump insists he is banning TikTok from operating in US

President Trump says he is banning TikTok from operating in US. Speaking with reporters Friday night even after news that Microsoft was in talks to buy TikTok operations in the US, he said, “As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States.”

When asked when this will happen, he said: “Soon, immediately. I mean essentially immediately.” Trump said he had the authority to ban the app, saying he could use “emergency economic powers or an executive order” to bar TikTok from the US and “I will sign the document tomorrow,” which is today, Saturday.

Earlier on Friday, it was expected that President Trump would sign an order to force ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns the social media platform, to sell the US operations of TikTok. Microsoft was touted as the buyer interested in the acquisition.

According to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a discussion with reporters this week at the White House, the US government is conducting a national security review of TikTok and is preparing to make a policy recommendation to Trump.

TikTok is a Chinese video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based internet technology company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming. It is used to create short dance, lip-sync, comedy and talent videos.

Microsoft has declined to comment on the matter.