The United States has banned download of Chinese app TikTok and use of messaging and payment platform WeChat, saying they threaten national security. The ban will come into effect from tomorrow night. In a statement, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said, Chinese Communist Party has demonstrated the means and motives to use these apps to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the US. 

The initiative will ban WeChat and TikTok from the online marketplaces operated by Apple and Google. While WeChat will effectively be shut down in the US from tomorrow night, existing TikTok users will be able to continue using the app until November 12 – when it will also face a full ban on its US operations. Ross said, from tomorrow night, TikTok users will not have access to improved apps, d apps, upgraded apps, or maintenance.

TikTok has slammed the decision and vowed to fight the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on the company. It said, the ban impedes a tool for entertainment, self-expression and connection.