TikTok, which produces short videos, is very popular with young people.

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JLN Photography / Shutterstock / SIPA

The United States announced Friday the ban, from Sunday, of downloading TikTok and WeChat applications, further escalation in the standoff with China over the fate of these two applications.

Washington, however, leaves a door open for TikTok, before completely prohibiting it from operating on its soil.

“The president is leaving until November 12 to resolve the national security concerns posed by TikTok.

The bans could be lifted if necessary, ”the Commerce Department said in a statement.

Regarding WeChat, current users will see the application almost disabled in the United States, said a US official.

The platform, which belongs to the Chinese giant Tencent, is omnipresent in the lives of Chinese people (messaging, remote payments, reservations, etc.).

Degraded service

The announcement comes as negotiations with ByteDance, Chinese parent company of TikTok, to sell its activities in the United States to an American group are stalling and the Trump administration is growing impatient.

"The Chinese Communist Party has demonstrated that it has the means and the intention to use these applications to threaten national security, foreign policy and the economy of the United States", justifies the US Department of Commerce.

"Regarding TikTok, the only real change from Sunday evening will be that we will not have access to application improvements, updates or maintenance," said Minister of Commerce Wilbur Ross on the Fox Business channel.

Very quickly, users will therefore have to deal with an application with degraded service, which could make it much less attractive.

TikTok defends itself

"We do not agree with the Commerce Department's decision and are disappointed that it is blocking downloads of new applications from Sunday and banning the use of the TikTok application in the United States from November 12. ", A spokesperson told AFP.

"In our proposal to the US administration, we have already committed to unprecedented levels of additional transparency and accountability, far beyond what other apps are willing to do," she also said. , citing the possibility of third-party audits, "code security verification and US government oversight of data security in the United States."

In addition, an American technology provider would be responsible for the maintenance and operation of the TikTok network in the United States, "which would include all services and data serving American consumers", she said.

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