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Trump says he’ll ban TikTok, as US slaps sanctions on Chinese entity, officials

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The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, has announced that plans are underway by his government to ban fast-growing Chinese social media application TikTok.

This came as US authorities raised concerns that the service could be a tool for Chinese intelligence as US officials fear China may be using the popular video-sharing app for nefarious purposes.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday, Trump said: “As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States.”

READ ALSO: 4 US officials break into Chinese consulate in Houston after staff departed premises

Trump added that he would take action as soon as Saturday using emergency economic power or an executive order.

Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on a Chinese government entity and two officials related to it for alleged human rights abuses against Uighurs and other ethnic minority people in China’s Xinjiang province.

The move marks yet another escalation of tensions between Washington and Beijing and came a week after President Trump closed the Chinese consulate in Houston, prompting China to shut the US consulate in Chengdu.

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