The US Commerce Department said it will issue an order that will bar people in the US from downloading Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok and messaging app WeChat starting on Sunday.
Commerce officials said the ban on new US downloads of TikTok could be still rescinded by President Donald Trump before it takes effect late Sunday as TikTok owner ByteDance races to clinch an agreement over the fate of its US operations.
Commerce officials said they will not bar additional technical transactions for TikTok until November 12, which gives the company additional time to see if ByteDance can reach a deal for its US operations.
"The basic TikTok will stay intact until November 12," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox Business Network.
The department said the actions will "protect users in the US by eliminating access to these applications and significantly reducing their functionality."
The Commerce Department order will "deplatform" the two apps in the US and bar Apple’s app store, Alphabet's Google Play and others from offering the apps on any platform "that can be reached from within the US," a senior commerce official said.
The order will not ban US companies from doing businesses on WeChat outside the US, which will be welcome news to US firms like Walmart and Starbucks that use WeChat's embedded 'mini-app' programmes to facilitate transactions and engage consumers in China, officials said.
Meanwhile, Beijing-based ByteDance is reportedly planning a US initial public offering of TikTok Global, the new company that will operate the popular short video app, should its proposed deal be cleared by the US government, people familiar with the matter said.
An IPO of TikTok would be one of the technology sector's biggest-ever stock market debuts, given that the app was recently valued by ByteDance investors at more than $50 billion (Dh183.5bn).
It would further reduce ByteDance's stake in the company to appease US officials who want to see the Chinese firm loosen its grip on the video app.
The filing of the IPO would be on a US stock exchange and could come in about a year, the sources said.
ByteDance is racing to clinch an agreement with the White House that will stave off a US ban on TikTok that Mr Trump has threatened could happen as early as next week.
Mr Trump ordered ByteDance last month to divest TikTok amid US concerns that the personal data of as many as 100 million Americans who use the app is at risk.
This week, he reiterated he was opposed to ByteDance retaining majority ownership of TikTok.
The White House and ByteDance have agreed to a term sheet on some aspects of a deal, although Mr Trump has not yet approved it, one of the sources said.
Top ByteDance US investors, Oracle and potentially Walmart would hold at least a 60 per cent stake in TikTok's US operations, the source said.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said the situation was still fluid.
"There's no definite proposal that the president's being asked to consider or reject at this point," Mr Meadows told reporters.
The new company, dubbed TikTok Global, will have a majority of American directors, a US chief executive and a security expert on the board, the source added.
Oracle has agreed to eventually own a 20 per cent stake in the company, according to the source. If Walmart also successfully negotiates acquiring a stake, its chief executive, Doug McMillon, would get a seat on TikTok Global's board, the source said.
Mr Trump said that his administration talked with Walmart and Oracle on Thursday but "nothing much has changed" regarding a deal.
He added, without giving details, "I guess Microsoft is still involved." Microsoft said on Sunday its offer for TikTok was rejected.
"We'll make a decision soon," Mr Trump said.
There is no certainty over whether Mr Trump will sign off on the agreement. It was also not immediately clear what assets TikTok Global would own beyond the app's assets in the US.
ByteDance has also offered to create 25,000 new jobs in the US as it seeks to win Mr Trump's confidence for a deal.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
'Falling%20for%20Christmas'
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more from Janine di Giovanni
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
The BIO
Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.
Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.
Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.
Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
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The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
