(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump said he will take action as soon as Saturday to ban TikTok, a popular Chinese-owned video app that has been a source of national security and censorship concerns.
Trump’s comments came after published reports that the administration is planning to order China’s ByteDance to sell TikTok. There were also reports Friday that software giant Microsoft is in talks to buy the app.
“As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States,” Trump told reporters Friday on Air Force One as he returned from Florida.
Trump said he could use emergency economic powers or an executive order to enforce the action, insisting, “I have that authority.” He added, “It’s going to be signed tomorrow.”
Reports by Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal citing anonymous sources said the administration could soon announce a decision ordering ByteDance to divest its ownership in TikTok.
There have been reports of U.S. tech giants and financial firms being interested in buying or investing in TikTok as the Trump administration sets its sights on the app. The New York Times and Fox Business, citing an unidentified source, reported Friday that Microsoft is in talks to buy TikTok. Microsoft declined to comment.
TikTok issued a statement Friday saying that, “While we do not comment on rumors or speculation, we are confident in the long-term success of TikTok.”
ByteDance launched TikTok in 2017, then bought Musical.ly, a video service popular with teens in the U.S. and Europe, and combined the two. A twin service, Douyin, is available for Chinese users.
TikTok’s fun, goofy videos and ease of use has made it immensely popular, and U.S. tech giants like Facebook and Snapchat see it as a competitive threat. It has said it has tens of millions of U.S. users and hundreds of millions globally.
But its Chinese ownership has raised concerns about the censorship of videos, including those critical of the Chinese government, and the potential for sharing user data with Chinese officials.
TikTok maintains it doesn’t censor videos based on topics sensitive to China and it would not give the Chinese government access to U.S. user data even if asked. The company has hired a U.S. CEO, a former top Disney executive, in an attempt to distance itself from its Chinese ownership.
U.S. national-security officials have been reviewing the Musical.ly acquisition in recent months, while U.S. armed forces have banned their employees from installing TikTok on government-issued phones. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier this month that the U.S. was considering banning TikTok.
These national-security worries parallel a broader U.S. security crackdown on Chinese companies, including telecom providers Huawei and ZTE. The Trump administration has ordered that the U.S. stop funding equipment from those providers in U.S. networks. It has also tried to steer allies away from Huawei because of worries about the Chinese government’s access to data, which the companies have denied it has.
The Trump administration has stepped in before to block or dissolve deals on national-security concerns, including stopping Singapore’s Broadcom from its $117 billion bid for U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm in 2018 in an effort to help retain U.S. leadership in the telecom space. It also told China’s Beijing Kunlun Tech Co. to sell off its 2016 purchase of gay dating app Grindr.
Other countries are also taking action against TikTok. India this month banned dozens of Chinese apps, including TikTok, citing privacy concerns, amid tensions between the countries.
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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking aboard Air Force One and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump said he will take action as soon as Saturday to ban TikTok, a popular Chinese-owned video app that has been a source of national security and censorship concerns.
Trump’s comments came after published reports that the administration is planning to order China’s ByteDance to sell TikTok. There were also reports Friday that software giant Microsoft is in talks to buy the app.
“As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States,” Trump told reporters Friday on Air Force One as he returned from Florida.
Trump said he could use emergency economic powers or an executive order to enforce the action, insisting, “I have that authority.” He added, “It’s going to be signed tomorrow.”
Reports by Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal citing anonymous sources said the administration could soon announce a decision ordering ByteDance to divest its ownership in TikTok.
There have been reports of U.S. tech giants and financial firms being interested in buying or investing in TikTok as the Trump administration sets its sights on the app. The New York Times and Fox Business, citing an unidentified source, reported Friday that Microsoft is in talks to buy TikTok. Microsoft declined to comment.
TikTok issued a statement Friday saying that, “While we do not comment on rumors or speculation, we are confident in the long-term success of TikTok.”
ByteDance launched TikTok in 2017, then bought Musical.ly, a video service popular with teens in the U.S. and Europe, and combined the two. A twin service, Douyin, is available for Chinese users.
TikTok’s fun, goofy videos and ease of use has made it immensely popular, and U.S. tech giants like Facebook and Snapchat see it as a competitive threat. It has said it has tens of millions of U.S. users and hundreds of millions globally.
But its Chinese ownership has raised concerns about the censorship of videos, including those critical of the Chinese government, and the potential for sharing user data with Chinese officials.
TikTok maintains it doesn’t censor videos based on topics sensitive to China and it would not give the Chinese government access to U.S. user data even if asked. The company has hired a U.S. CEO, a former top Disney executive, in an attempt to distance itself from its Chinese ownership.
U.S. national-security officials have been reviewing the Musical.ly acquisition in recent months, while U.S. armed forces have banned their employees from installing TikTok on government-issued phones. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier this month that the U.S. was considering banning TikTok.
These national-security worries parallel a broader U.S. security crackdown on Chinese companies, including telecom providers Huawei and ZTE. The Trump administration has ordered that the U.S. stop funding equipment from those providers in U.S. networks. It has also tried to steer allies away from Huawei because of worries about the Chinese government’s access to data, which the companies have denied it has.
The Trump administration has stepped in before to block or dissolve deals on national-security concerns, including stopping Singapore’s Broadcom from its $117 billion bid for U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm in 2018 in an effort to help retain U.S. leadership in the telecom space. It also told China’s Beijing Kunlun Tech Co. to sell off its 2016 purchase of gay dating app Grindr.
Other countries are also taking action against TikTok. India this month banned dozens of Chinese apps, including TikTok, citing privacy concerns, amid tensions between the countries.
___
Associated Press writers Kevin Freking aboard Air Force One and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump plans to announce a decision ordering China’s ByteDance Ltd. to divest its ownership of the popular U.S.-based music-video app TikTok, according to people familiar with the matter.
The U.S. has been investigating potential national security risks due to the company’s control of the app, and Trump’s decision could be announced as soon as Friday.
Spokespeople for the White House and Treasury Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A TikTok spokesperson couldn’t be reached for comment.
Snap Inc., a TikTok competitor, gained on the report, reflecting speculation that it may benefit from any move that weakens TikTok. Shares of the Santa Monica, California-based company were up 2 percent to $22.87 in New York.
Bytedance bought Musical.ly Inc. in 2017 and merged it with TikTok, creating a popular and fast-growing social media hit in the U.S — the first Chinese app to make such inroads.
As TikTok grew more popular, U.S. officials grew more concerned about the potential for the Chinese government to use the app to gain data on U.S. citizens. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which investigates overseas acquisition of U.S. businesses, began a review of the purchase in the fall of 2019, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
TikTok has become a political pawn between the U.S. and China, and elected officials have criticized the app’s security and privacy practices, suggesting that user data collected through the app might be shared with the Chinese government. Trump said earlier this month he was considering banning TikTok as a way to retaliate against China for its handling of the coronavirus.
TikTok critics and competitors have played up that fear, including Facebook Inc., which has criticized the app for alleged censorship.
Trump’s threat to ban TikTok came just a few weeks after reports that many TikTok users had tried to sabotage a Trump campaign rally by requesting tickets they never planned to use and coordinated a push to flood Trump’s 2020 campaign app with negative reviews.
TikTok has been looking for ways to distance itself from its Chinese ownership, seeking to reassure the public that no data is stored on servers in China and that the app operates independently. Bytedance even appointed a CEO formerly of Walt Disney Co, Kevin Mayer, to run its operations in America.
President Donald Trump plans to announce a decision ordering China’s ByteDance Ltd. to divest its ownership of the popular U.S.-based music-video app TikTok, according to people familiar with the matter.
The U.S. has been investigating potential national security risks due to the company’s control of the app, and Trump’s decision could be announced as soon as Friday.
Spokespeople for the White House and Treasury Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A TikTok spokesperson couldn’t be reached for comment.
Snap Inc., a TikTok competitor, gained on the report, reflecting speculation that it may benefit from any move that weakens TikTok. Shares of the Santa Monica, California-based company were up 2 percent to $22.87 in New York.
Bytedance bought Musical.ly Inc. in 2017 and merged it with TikTok, creating a popular and fast-growing social media hit in the U.S — the first Chinese app to make such inroads.
As TikTok grew more popular, U.S. officials grew more concerned about the potential for the Chinese government to use the app to gain data on U.S. citizens. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which investigates overseas acquisition of U.S. businesses, began a review of the purchase in the fall of 2019, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
TikTok has become a political pawn between the U.S. and China, and elected officials have criticized the app’s security and privacy practices, suggesting that user data collected through the app might be shared with the Chinese government. Trump said earlier this month he was considering banning TikTok as a way to retaliate against China for its handling of the coronavirus.
TikTok critics and competitors have played up that fear, including Facebook Inc., which has criticized the app for alleged censorship.
Trump’s threat to ban TikTok came just a few weeks after reports that many TikTok users had tried to sabotage a Trump campaign rally by requesting tickets they never planned to use and coordinated a push to flood Trump’s 2020 campaign app with negative reviews.
TikTok has been looking for ways to distance itself from its Chinese ownership, seeking to reassure the public that no data is stored on servers in China and that the app operates independently. Bytedance even appointed a CEO formerly of Walt Disney Co, Kevin Mayer, to run its operations in America.
President Donald Trump plans to announce a decision ordering China’s ByteDance Ltd. to divest its ownership of the popular U.S.-based music-video app TikTok, according to people familiar with the matter.
The U.S. has been investigating potential national security risks due to the company’s control of the app, and Trump’s decision could be announced as soon as Friday.
Spokespeople for the White House and Treasury Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A TikTok spokesperson couldn’t be reached for comment.
Snap Inc., a TikTok competitor, gained on the report, reflecting speculation that it may benefit from any move that weakens TikTok. Shares of the Santa Monica, California-based company were up 2 percent to $22.87 in New York.
Bytedance bought Musical.ly Inc. in 2017 and merged it with TikTok, creating a popular and fast-growing social media hit in the U.S — the first Chinese app to make such inroads.
As TikTok grew more popular, U.S. officials grew more concerned about the potential for the Chinese government to use the app to gain data on U.S. citizens. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which investigates overseas acquisition of U.S. businesses, began a review of the purchase in the fall of 2019, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
TikTok has become a political pawn between the U.S. and China, and elected officials have criticized the app’s security and privacy practices, suggesting that user data collected through the app might be shared with the Chinese government. Trump said earlier this month he was considering banning TikTok as a way to retaliate against China for its handling of the coronavirus.
TikTok critics and competitors have played up that fear, including Facebook Inc., which has criticized the app for alleged censorship.
Trump’s threat to ban TikTok came just a few weeks after reports that many TikTok users had tried to sabotage a Trump campaign rally by requesting tickets they never planned to use and coordinated a push to flood Trump’s 2020 campaign app with negative reviews.
TikTok has been looking for ways to distance itself from its Chinese ownership, seeking to reassure the public that no data is stored on servers in China and that the app operates independently. Bytedance even appointed a CEO formerly of Walt Disney Co, Kevin Mayer, to run its operations in America.
What can history teach us about who we are today? It’s a question of enormous scope, but one that the authors of this month’s best books tackle with honesty and care. In her highly anticipated book Caste, journalist Isabel Wilkerson outlines a new framework to understand social hierarchy in the United States. In their twisty novels, Daisy Johnson and Charlotte McConaghy examine what makes people run away from the lives they once led. And in a sweeping collection of Native poetry, the voices of more than 160 poets demonstrate the evolution of Native literature. These books, among several others, pose crucial questions about how the past shapes the present.
Here, the 12 new books to read in August.
The Death of Vivek Oji, Akwaeke Emezi (Aug. 4)
The first chapter of Akwaeke Emezi’s latest novel contains just one sentence: “They burned down the market on the day Vivek Oji died.” From there, the story moves forward and backward in time, unveiling the titular character’s coming-of-age in Nigeria, where his family struggled to accept who he wanted to be. In chapters that flip between various voices in Vivek’s life, including Vivek’s own, Emezi dissects how a community can grieve a person they never truly understood.
After being sexually assaulted by her colleague, Yona Ko wants to leave Jungle, the travel agency where they both work. But when she tries to resign, she’s presented with an intriguing offer: a paid trip to one of Jungle’s destinations. But Jungle isn’t a normal travel agency—they specialize in disaster tourism, building itineraries in areas once hit by tsunamis, hurricanes and more.The Disaster Touristfollows Yona as she embarks on an increasingly strange and thrilling trip to the island of Mui, where she discovers the very dark sides of the tourism industry.
Franny Stone has just arrived in Greenland, and she’s on a mission: to track the last migration of the Arctic tern. The 30-something from Galway talks her way onto a fishing boat and begins a dangerous journey at sea. Set in a world eerily similar to our own,Migrationsis a bleak look into a future where wildlife is disappearing at a rapid rate, leaving Franny desperate to chase the terns before they’re gone for good. But why that bird? In uncovering the answer, McConaghy paints a gutting portrait of a woman worn down by a world she never quite fit into.
In the years that follow the death of her abusive husband, Betty Ramdin opens up her home to her colleague Mr. Chetan. The two live together platonically and raise Betty’s son Solo, rebuilding a family unit that was once shattered. But this new unit falls apart when Solo discovers a secret from his mother’s past—one that drives him to flee their home in Trinidad for New York. Written in Trinidadian dialect, Ingrid Persaud’s bruising debut delves into the heartbreaks that accompany everyday life, culminating in a powerful examination of what it means to be part of a family.
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson (Aug. 4)
The latest book fromPulitzer Prize-winningauthorIsabel Wilkersonfocuses on the formation of social hierarchy in the United Statesby exploring the country’sunspoken caste system. Wilkerson provides a masterful framework forunderstanding American inequality,building on more than a decade of research, to illuminate the divisions that occur in the United States,widening the scope beyond race and class. In highlighting the ways the caste systems ofAmerica, India and Nazi Germanyare all connected, Wilkerson forces her readers to reevaluate the systems into which people are born.
Belabored: A Vindication of the Rights of Pregnant Women, Lyz Lenz (Aug. 11)
Writer and editor Lyz Lenz wants us to start treating pregnant women differently. In her searing new book, she analyzes why it’s so difficult to be pregnant in America, blending together historical research, feminist theory and her own experiences as an expectant parent. She asks us to consider our definitions of pregnancy and motherhood, the imagery that they conjure and the myths that need debunking. In a voice full of humor, passion and urgency, Lenz asks that women be the ones making decisions about their bodies.
A House Is a Body: Stories, Shruti Swamy (Aug. 11)
In herdebutcollection, Shruti Swami explores lust, loss and loneliness through12 short storiesset in the United States and India. The characters inA House Is a Bodynavigate disasters on small and large scales:in one story a man wrestles with grief over his wife’s death as he continues to raise their child,in another a woman is trapped in her home as a nearby wildfire picks up speed.Throughout, Swamy connects the narratives through her clean prose, punctuating moments both surreal and eerily realistic.
When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry, Joy Harjo (editor)(Aug. 25)
More than 160 poets from almost 100 Indigenous nations comprise this comprehensive anthology, which showcasespoetry that span centuries. The five sections of the collection represent the different geographical regions of the United States, and include a range of voices, from Eleazar, a 17th-century student at Harvard, to contemporary poets like Tommy Pico and Layli Long Soldier. The anthology, edited byU.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, celebrates the power of Native literature and underlines the impact it has had on American poetry.
Buy Now:When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through on Bookshop | Amazon
Sisters, Daisy Johnson (Aug. 25)
Can sisters ever be too close? It’s the question at the core of Daisy Johnson’s unsettling new novel, which traces the plight of teenage sisters July and September. The girls recently moved with their mother to a remote cottage on the coast after fleeing their home in Oxford. In unraveling exactly what the sisters are running away from, Johnson crafts an aching thriller about the dangers of loving too intensely.
In her 2015 memoirH is for Hawk, naturalist Helen Macdonald reflected on how her relationship with a goshawk helped her grieve her father’s death.In her new collection Vesper Flights, Macdonald again grapples with feelings of loss and love and relates them to wildlife. In essays both new and old, Macdonald makes stunning observations about the animals that surround us, from cranes in Hungary to songbirds in New York City, revealing what these creatures can teach us about ourselves.
Like its predecessors, thefourth and final installmentof Ali Smith’s belovedSeasonal Quartet seriesis anchored in the veryreal tensions of our present moment. Set against thebackdrop of the coronavirus pandemic,Summerdives into our current sociopolitical landscape through thestory of siblings Sacha and Robert. As the duo attempts to understand their place in the world, Smithweaves in characters from past booksandtackles issues like immigration and Brexit.
Winter Counts, David Heska Wanbli Weiden (Aug. 25)
At the center of David Heska Wanbli Weiden’s crime thriller isVirgil Wounded Horse,the local enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.Though he’s used to doling out punishments in his community, things get personal when hisnephew overdoses on heroin. InWinter Counts, Virgil becomes obsessed with figuring out how the drugs got into the reservation, leading him on agripping journey to Denver with his ex-girlfriend.
