TikTok banned in US from Sunday, WeChat too

US app stores will be forced to remove TikTok and fellow Chinese app WeChat from Sunday 20 September, under an executive order by president Trump.

Talks will continue between TikTok owner ByteDance and US firm Oracle, ahead of a 12 November deadline originally set by the president. However, Apple and Google will be ordered to remove it from their app stores in the meantime.

TikTok users will be able to continue to use the app if they have it installed already, but it will not be updated, nor will existing users be able to re-download it they delete it.

If talks with Oracle do not bear fruit by 12 November, it will become illegal to distribute TikTok in the States, even host it on US servers.

Those restrictions will already apply in full for WeChat from Sunday.

The initial part of the ban relates to the first of two executive orders signed by Trump. It prohibits companies in the country from having dealings with TikTok and WeChat.

A second executive order enabled US suitors to talk to ByteDance about potential acquisitions of its US business, as long as all negotiations are finished and agreed by 12 November.

The US ban does not apply to TikTok use outside of the US, so iOS and Android owners in other countries, including the UK, will still be able to access it on relevant app stores.

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