President Donald Trump issued an executive order Thursday barring U.S. companies from doing business with ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok.
The order, which is set to go into effect in 45 days, would be a major blow to the popular short-form video app if it is not sold to a U.S. company. Microsoft has been in talks to buy TikTok’s U.S. operations and said last week that it would complete the discussions by Sept. 15.
The order says the risks posed by the platform are “real” and constitute a “national emergency.” The app is reported to have been downloaded 175 million times, capturing “vast swaths” of information that “threatens to allow” Chinese government officials to track Americans, according to the order. (NBC News)
For full story, click: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-issues-executive-order-barring-u-s-firms-doing-business-n1236095