Donald Trump has given US companies 45 days to stop dealing with ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, and WeChat, the messaging platform owned by Tencent, as he stepped up a campaign to clamp down on apps he called a threat to economic and national security.
Mr Trump issued two executive orders decreeing US businesses would no longer be able to work with the Chinese groups after a 45-day period. The move comes as Microsoft negotiates to buy TikTok, a popular short-video app, ahead of a September 15 deadline that Mr Trump had previously set.
One US official said the 45-day window would “give Microsoft and other interested purchasers time to reach a deal with TikTok’s owners that adequately addresses the national security concerns posed by the app”.