President Donald Trump said on Friday night that he would ban the popular video sharing app TikTok.
“As far as TikTok is concerned we’re banning them from the United States,” Trump said aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington after a fundraising trip to Florida.
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Trump described the action as “severance” and said he could sign an order as soon as Saturday. “Well, I have that authority,” he said.
“I can do it with an executive order or that,” Trump said, referring to emergency economic powers.
A spokesperson for TikTok said in a statement that the app is a job creator committed to the privacy of its 100 million users in the United States.
"We've hired nearly 1,000 people to our US team this year alone, and are proud to be hiring another 10,000 employees into great paying jobs across the US.," the spokesperson said. "Our $1 billion creator fund supports US creators who are building livelihoods from our platform.
"TikTok US user data is stored in the US, with strict controls on employee access," the statement continued. "TikTok's biggest investors come from the US. We are committed to protecting our users' privacy and safety as we continue working to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create on our platform."
The American Civil Liberties Union tweeted that Trump’s plan was “a danger to free expression.”
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