The
ongoing debate surrounding Trump and TikTok has finally come to a conclusion.
Trump has officially signed an executive order that blocks all transactions with
ByteDance – the parent corporation of TikTok. Apparently, it is an effort to
“address the national emergency with respect to the information and
communication technology supply chain.” The executive order that is passed by
the Trump administration is effective immediately and comes with a strict
45-day deadline.

According
to the order, the continuous spreading of information acts as a threat to the
national security, foreign policy as well as the economy of the United States.
Hence, the order is an aggressive answer to the owners of TikTok and an action
to protect the national security.

Source: The Verge

At
the same time, another ban has been imposed on WeChat – a popular texting app
in China that has a small user base in the UK. This, again, has occurred after
months of tension between the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other White
House members.

In
the recent past, the discussions were further complicated when Microsoft
announced its plans to buy the app. Satya Nadella has even spoken to Trump
about the potential of acquiring portions of TikTok that is based in the US,
Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. However, the company did mention that the
discussions were still put on hold and no confirmation was guaranteed regarding
the transaction between Microsoft and TikTok. 

Microsoft
promised to end the discussions by 15^th September, and Trump’s new
order nears and ends its deadline on 20^th September.

Interestingly,
Trump has mentioned the International Emergency Economic Power Act as the
authority for the move along with the National Emergency Act in both the
executive orders passed. Both of these orders call out TikTok’s continued
functioning within the US and label these operations a threat to national
security. 

There’s
no way to tell how these orders will impact the app’s ability to work in the
short term. The case is highly distinguished from the cases of Huawei and ZTE
as the company doesn’t need licenses to work its network, and it’s not like the
order has mandated the requirement of the app stores to cease the app.