US President Donald Trump on Friday said that he will ban social media app TikTok as American authorities have raised concerns that the service could be a tool for Chinese intelligence.
US officials and lawmakers in recent weeks have voiced fears of the wildly popular video platform.
Expressing concerns they said the app is being used by Beijing for nefarious purposes.
However, the company has denied any links to the Chinese government.
“President Trump would require the US operations of the app be divested from its Chinese parent firm ByteDance, but the president announced a ban,” media reports circulated earlier on Friday said.
“As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States,” the president said while speaking to the media.
He further said that he would take action as soon as Saturday using emergency economic power or executive order.
It may be mentioned here that Trump’s move comes following a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) in the United States, which investigates deals affecting US national security.