The U.S. Commerce Department’s plans to ban TikTok and WeChat will take one step forward on Sunday as Trump administration executive orders go into effect against the social media apps.
The Department announced today that the distribution or maintenance of WeChat or TikTok apps in an app marketplace will be forbidden as of Sunday.
Users who have the app already downloaded on their devices will be able to continue using the software. The restrictions mean that updated versions of the apps cannot be downloaded, however.
“The only real change as of Sunday night will be [TikTok users] won’t have access to improved apps, updated apps, upgraded apps or maintenance,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Friday morning on Fox Business.
Last month President Trump issued an order mandating the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations within 90 days. The administration believes the app’s China-based parent company, ByteDance mines the app for data on U.S. users and then shares it with the Chinese government’s intelligence agencies.