Commerce Department announces clampdown on TikTok and WeChat begins Sunday

The Trump administration will begin blocking business transactions in the United States with popular Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok and messaging app WeChat starting on Sunday.

The Commerce Department announced the new rules barring TikTok and WeChat from U.S. app stores on Friday, but it could be rescinded depending on whether a deal that addresses national security concerns is reached.

“Today’s actions prove once again that President Trump will do everything in his power to guarantee our national security and protect Americans from the threats of the Chinese Communist Party,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement. “At the President’s direction, we have taken significant action to combat China’s malicious collection of American citizens’ personal data, while promoting our national values, democratic rules-based norms, and aggressive enforcement of U.S. laws and regulations.”

The announcement lays out two dates by which certain types of transactions will be banned. "Any other prohibitive transaction relating to WeChat or TikTok may be identified at a future date," the Commerce Department said.